PHOENIX — When a group of women went to the Arizona Capitol to visit a marker for their friend who died due to domestic violence, the group decided to raise funds to restore the hard-to-see markers at the memorial area.
It was toward the end of 2023 when the six friends made the tough visit to their late friend Cassie Parker’s marker at the Capitol. Cassie was murdered by her stepfather, Wayne Bonoit Prince, who shot her in the head in March of 1998 while she was in eighth grade. The group of friends was not able to find Cassie’s marker because all of them were hard to read due to dirt and erosion.
It’s been 26 years since Cassie died at the age of 13.
A marker with her name is among the 101 markers and a bench, a memorial dedicated to children who died because of domestic violence.
“We couldn’t find it because it was so hard to read them”, said Veronica Gonzalez.
Gonzalez started looking for a way to restore her friend’s marker and between calls with the non-profit Parents of Murder Children (POMC) and the Capitol, she was able to get in touch with someone who was able to do the job for a much lower cost.
The agreement was for Gonzalez to raise the funds while the markers started to be restored. So, she decided to start a GoFundMe to raise the money to restore not only Cassie’s marker, but the other 100 as well as the bench at the memorial.
Cassandra Renee Parker
Gonzalez mentioned her friend Cassie had mentioned that there were some things going on between her mom and her stepfather, but no indicator that it was against her. No indicator that she was at risk of losing her life at 13.
“When we got to school that morning, everything was so quiet y we were told in class, but the teacher didn’t tell us that she died,” said Gonzalez.
March 25, 1998, there was a fight between Cassie’s mom and stepdad. Gonzalez said at some point the stepfather went to Cassie’s room and shot her in the head.
“She has such a good heart, she wanted to be a doctor. A good friend to all of us,” shared Gonzalez.
Prince was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempt of first-degree murder for shooting Cassie’s mom, who survived to the injury.
He was sentence to death.
But last year, Prince appealed the sentence and Cassie’s friends got together to be voices for Cassie. They made t-shirts with Cassie’s picture and text saying “Our Voice is Her Voice," when they went to visit the memorial.
Prince’s sentence was modified from death to life in prison.
And Cassie’s friend found a mission, the mission to restore 101 markers and a bench at the Arizona Capitol memorial for children who lost their lives to domestic violence.
“We couldn’t just do Cassie’s, so we want to restore all of them,” said Gonzalez.
You can contribute to their mission by donating to their GoFundMe where Gonzalez has been posting updates on how the markers look after being restored.
Restauración de lápidas en Capitolio de Arizona
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