Candlelight ceremony honors those lost to violence

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Dozens gathered Monday night at an annual candelight memorial ceremony with the central Ohio chapter of Parents of Murdered Children to remember their loved ones. 

This marked the 34th year the group honored those they’ve lost with the ceremony, with attendees representing homicide victims spanning decades. 

They all have one thing in common. 

“Everyone can relate to what you go through,” Barbara Hermann said. 

Hermann’s daughter Tina Herrmann and grandson Kody Maynard were killed in November 2010 in Knox County alongside Tina’s friend Stephanie Sprang. Hermann’s granddaughter was kidnapped but survived the ordeal. 

Hermann said she needed a support group right from the beginning; she joined Parents of Murdered Children 14 years ago.  

“It’s family,” she said. “You know you have a bond as soon as you come in the door. It’s hard to come in that door but I made myself do it. I came alone and I did it and I was glad I did.” 

Hermann and the other attendees had the chance to say their loved ones’ names and then light a candle in their memory during Monday’s ceremony.  

POMC board member Donald Hochuli said that each year, this is a beautiful event that honors those lost to violence, including his daughter Lynn Hochuli Vest, 23, and grandson Jeremy Pickens, 2.  

“I read one time that you die twice when you die,” Hochuli said. “The first time is when your body ceases to function, and the second time is when people don’t remember you. So we try to remember our loved ones.”  

Lynn and Jeremy were murdered in 1980 and the case remains unsolved. Hochuli said the pain never leaves him.  

He said he is a leader of POMC even on the hard days because he wants loved ones of murder victims to know that there are other people who can relate to their experience. 

“We’re there for them, whatever their needs are as far as getting through the trauma of it and somebody to talk to,” Hochuli said.  

The central Ohio chapter of Parents of Murdered Children is a club no one wants to be part of, but organizers said they hope attendees realize they are not alone in their grief.