Merced walk honors victims
Some wore ribbons and a few carried signs or photos as marchers gathered during the weekend and mourned lives taken too soon in Merced.
Scores of people gathered in a parking lot on Olive and Meadows avenues on Saturday before heading into Merced’s Loughborough neighborhood as part of the annual Riley Brothers Victims’ Remembrance Walk, named for two brothers, Mike and Marlis Riley, killed within a year of each other.
Sonia Riley, who now lives in Sacramento, said the annual walks have helped her family to heal from the deaths of her younger brothers.
“It helps especially this time of year with the holiday season,” the 41-year-old said.
Mike Riley, a Navy veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was a 29-year-old honor student at Merced College when he was shot to death the night of Oct. 7, 2008, outside Village Meadows Apartments in the 1100 block of Loughborough Drive. According to his family, he planned to transfer to California State University, Stanislaus, or UC Berkeley with the goal of getting a Harvard law degree.
It helps especially this time of year with the holiday season.
Sonia Riley
41, on how walks have helped heal the familyHis sister said the family’s grief is compounded by the fact his murder remains unsolved.
On Sept. 12, 2009, Marlis Riley, 27, was killed after a fight with two men, Nicholas Terrill Rhodes, 27, and Donald Emory Watts, 40, at a residence in the 1400 block of Conestoga Drive. Both men pleaded no contest to charges of involuntary manslaughter and were sentenced to four years in prison.
The marchers walked to spots in the neighborhood where the two men were killed. Marylene Riley, the matriarch of the family, asked children to participate by releasing balloons. Others were encouraged to sprinkle rose petals on the ground.
Other victims were honored with ceremonies of prayer and with music. The Rev. Phil Jenkins spoke about violence in the community.
He also spoke highly of the Riley men, describing them as “two young men that were a very bright light in this community.”
Thaddeus Miller: 209-385-2453, @thaddeusmiller
This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Merced walk honors victims."