Evil Eyes (28 page)

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of Elizabeth, where she looked like actress Kristy McNi-chol during her
Little Darlings/Family
heyday, replete with a T-shirt emblazoned with press-on letters that spelled out “Cherokee People.”

There were five photographs of Emily LaQua, three of her as a small girl. Suzanne Searles had two adult photos on display, which showcased her flaming red hair. Linda Tilley had two glamour photos, one serious and one with an openmouthed, full-bodied laugh/smile. There was a third photo of her playing in the snow. Elena Semander had ten photographs, which included a black-and-white shot of her playing field hockey, as well as many photographs with her brother and sisters. The table also displayed a poem written by Elena’s brother, John, entitled “To Elena With Love,” which was published in 1995 in a collection of poetry entitled
A Sea of Trea-sures
. There was also a letter of encouragement written by Elena for John.

After the reception ended, Andy Kahan, on behalf of the city of Houston’s Crime Victims Assistance of the Mayor’s Office, stepped up to the podium before the gathered crowd. The tall, thin Kahan, dressed in all-black and wearing round, wire-rimmed glasses, opened up the “Remembrance Memorial” by introducing Elizabeth Padilla and Nancy Salinas, who sang “The Lord’s Prayer.” The song was followed by the “Pledge of Alle-giance,” led by a young Boy Scout named Nicholas Pappas.

Kahan then addressed the crowd in a stentorian voice: “Families that are present here today that lost a loved one twenty years ago, we salute their bravery, their courage, fortitude, tenacity, and the humanity they have shown the rest of us.” Kahan then paused. “They have taken one of the worst tragedies that could happen to a human being

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and have turned it into a positive, perennial focus on influencing society and, ever hopeful, that no one has to join this infamous group.”

Kahan then turned his attention to retired Houston police officer Don Schmidt, one half of the team that arrested Coral Watts. Luther Domain, Schmidt’s partner, had suffered a stroke and was unable to attend.

“We salute you, for without your presence at the particular time and location, there’s no doubt in my mind, or anyone else’s mind, that there would be more families here today, if not for your fortitude.” Kahan directed his gaze at Schmidt and added, “The families, I know, thank you. I thank you. The citizens of Houston thank you. The society thanks you.”

Kahan asked Schmidt to step up to the podium and accept a “Certificate of Appreciation” for his efforts in capturing Coral Eugene Watts. Schmidt, the good guy dressed in all-white, seemed embarrassed by the attention. He shook hands with Kahan and tentatively walked up to the lectern. The once-slim, dark-haired police officer, now paunchy and sporting a head of white hair, quietly spoke to the audience. “My heart goes out to you,” he addressed the families of the women killed. He then modestly stated, “I’m glad where I was and I’m glad what I did”—he paused—“I just did my job.” He lifted the letter up a bit above his head and nodded, then just as quietly slipped away.

Kahan returned to the podium and also to the focus of the morning’s memorial: a remembrance of the victims. He asked that Marie O’Bryant, Carrie Mae Jefferson’s sister-in-law, come forward and speak about Carrie. The tall, striking woman, dressed in a purple-and-white silk blouse and purple blazer, walked onto the podium platform. The elegant woman spoke of all the important

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events that Carrie missed out on: her children’s gradu-ation, her daughter’s wedding, the birth of her grandchil-dren, family reunions, and Christmas.

“We have missed the potential of what Carrie may have been,” O’Bryant continued, “for we were blessed to be a part of who she was. The love she gave. The strength she shared. The laughter she brought into our lives.

“However, we were deprived of what she could have become. The experienced and wise older woman who could have shared the keys to life’s riches. The loving and tender mother who could have fully groomed her daughter into the rites of womanhood. The maternal grand-mother who could have shared with her grandkids some insight into how deep their roots extend.

“All of this was stolen by a man with no remorse or love for innocence or sanctity. To me, it is simply unfair that a man that has stolen so many lives has the right to consider freedom at the expense of the pain and suffering of the victims’ survivors and the victims’ families whose lives will forever be a shadow of what they could have been.”

After O’Bryant spoke, Kahan returned to the podium. He mentioned Elena Semander’s name as another one of Coral Watts’s victims. He then mentioned his friendship with Elena’s mother, Harriett Semander. Kahan spoke of Harriett’s unannounced efforts in coordinating the “Call to Action.” He also thanked her for her ten years of friendship and her dedication to the cause of keeping Coral Watts behind bars. Kahan then asked JoAnna Nicolaou, Elena’s youngest sister, to come and speak on behalf of her sister.

For those who knew Elena, it had to be a shock to see her sister. JoAnna was the spitting image of her oldest sister. The thirty-five-year-old former Houston Oiler

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cheerleader was now a mother of three children, but had kept her dancer’s figure. She looked almost exactly like Elena from the hair, to the nose, to the eyes, to the size. The seemingly nervous JoAnna stepped up to the gathering of microphones and pulled out her typed notes. She then comfortably slipped into the role of public speaker as she recalled several memories of her sister. She had asked those who had known Elena to give her their memories of times they spent with her. JoAnna first read a letter from Elena’s cousin Karen

Pappas, who was also with Elena the night before she died. Karen wrote about how she and Elena grew up together and how Karen believed Elena was her own big sister. She wistfully reminisced about playing dolls with her cousin and how she would be the voice of Barbie, Elena was the voice of Skipper, and how they used to al-ternate doing the voice of Ken.

JoAnna then read portions of a letter from their brother, John Semander. He wrote of barely being able to remember his sister, but a few things came back to him. He remembered being outside in their humble backyard when Elena would pull open the back door and scream out loud how much she loved the Houston Oilers football team during the 1979 or 1980 play-offs. He also remembered how his oldest sister was playing basketball with him in the family driveway and that she broke her leg.

JoAnna also read a letter from Georgia Vionis, the cho-reographer of the Houston Greek Festival dance program the year before Elena died. She raved about Elena’s “great smile and talent,” and how Elena was always so patient with the young kids and eager to teach them. She was amazed at how much life the twenty-year-old girl had packed into such a short period of time. Georgia considered Elena to be “one of God’s children.”

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JoAnna read another letter. This one was from a lifelong family friend, Chrissy Jelson. She, like Karen Pappas, considered Elena to be an older sister. She described Elena as “graceful, gracious, beautiful, and strong.” She remembered how Elena once wore a purple paisley scarf in her hair and how beautiful she looked. Chrissy went home to find a scarf just like Elena’s. She also recalled how, when she was young, she realized she needed glasses, but was too embarrassed to let her parents know because she thought they would look dorky on her. When she told Elena, Elena handed Chrissy her sunglasses and told her how good she looked and that glasses were “cool.” Chrissy immediately told her parents that she needed eyewear and that “glasses are okay. Elena Semander said so.”

Finally JoAnna read a letter from her older sister, Maria, who could not make the trip from her home in the South Bay region of southern California. Maria wrote, “It’s been twenty years since I held Elena’s hand singing and laughing at a Diana Ross concert. Twenty years since I graduated high school without her there. Twenty years since Elena was taken from life. “It seems like an eternity. Sometimes, it feels like just yesterday.” Maria’s memories continued: “As a typical stuck-up teenager, I was lucky. I had an older sister who was loving, cool, and, most importantly, accepting. Elena looked after me as her younger sister but she treated me as her friend.

“Most of my friends had older sisters who didn’t want us tagging along, but Elena was different. She took me to cool parties and places and she covered up for me when I was in trouble. Well, sometimes. And she showed me how to embrace life and people.”

Maria also wrote about Elena’s love of water, music, and sports.

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JoAnna concluded by stating that Elena was with God and part of His bigger plan.

Andy Kahan then acknowledged Watts’s final murder victim, Michelle Maday, and her family, who were unable to attend.

Next up was Larry Fossi, widower of murder victim Meg Fossi. Larry quickly and succinctly acknowledged how much he missed his wife; however, he turned his attention to the legal matter of Watts’s impending parole release.

Fossi spoke of the absurdity of Watts’s mandatory release. He asked the assembled crowd how this could happen. How could Coral Watts be released in 2006?

“I’ll tell you how,” the slim, well-spoken lawyer answered, “because some elected Texas judges made this happen.” Fossi talked about former judges Charles F. Baird and Michael Charlton, who both sat on the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals in 1987, when it was determined that Watts would receive his good-time credits. Fossi spoke of how Baird and Charlton made parole a mandatory right for all criminals, even though such law did not exist in either the Texas Constitution or the Constitution of the United States.

Fossi sighed as he became more worked up. The angry widower spoke of how Baird actually claimed that “it felt good, it felt wonderful” to create such a new law. He also pointed out that neither Baird nor Charlton would be around when Watts would be released in 2006.

Fossi asked the crowd, “Is Mr. Baird here today? I don’t think so. How about Mr. Charlton? I seriously doubt it.” He then mentioned how the judicious thinking of such staunch anti–death penalty advocates, such as Baird, was going to allow convicted murderers to walk the streets of Texas, the United States, and the world.

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Fossi spoke of how Baird and other anti–death penalty advocates complain that the problem with the death penalty is that an innocent person may be executed. Fossi pointed out that not one innocent person had ever been executed in the state of Texas, but that statistically, over time, such a tragedy would inevitably occur. He added, however, that had Watts been captured and sentenced to die in Michigan early on, at least twenty women would not have been killed.

“It would probably take centuries before Texas made twenty mistakes and put twenty people to death. It took Watts, of course, only a few years.”

Fossi implored the crowd to take a stand against such lawmakers. He asked them to reject lawmakers who created new laws that were to the detriment of the well-being of the state of Texas’s citizens.

“Let us not be afraid,” Fossi concluded, “to stand up for what is sensible and what is right.”

The crowd erupted in applause as Fossi left the podium.

The remainder of the testimonials continued on a more personal level. Keri Whitlow quoted lyrics from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” to describe her best friend, Suzi Wolf; Lori Sword spoke of how she met Suzanne Searles in college at Drake University; Elizabeth Young spoke of how wonderful a caregiver her daughter Emily LaQua was, at such an early age; and Maricela Gracia, Yolanda Gracia’s niece, struggled to speak of her loving aunt, but was literally supported by Yolanda’s grown-up, gorgeous daughter, Myra Gracia.

Laura Allen, the mother of Anna Ledet, spoke fondly of her oldest daughter. The elegant woman, dressed in a finely pressed black business suit and bejeweled with pearl earrings, was the symbol of strength and tenacity

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in the face of tragedy and despair. The gracious mother spoke in glowing terms as she remembered her daughter. She mentioned how Anna had completed all of her medical-school studies just one day before she met Coral Watts and was murdered by him. She decried that “the world was deprived of great gifts and great healing” with the murder of her daughter.

Allen had come to a different conclusion about Watts than had many of the other participants in the memorial. She reminded everyone that “the grief, the sorrow, the anxiety always will be with us.” She stopped, looked up at her fellow friends—who also had lost a loved one to a serial killer—and earnestly stated, “I’m going to say something that may be unpopular with some of you. As a Christian I’m called upon to forgive. If I do not forgive, I can never be forgiven.” What she said next ran counter to many in attendance. “So after about two-and-a-half years, I was at Holy Communion in Episcopal Church and about three people down from me, receiving, it was as if a voice screamed in my head, ‘I forgive. I forgive.’”

Allen, however, clarified her position. “I have forgiven the act, but only God can forgive the sin. And that forgiveness does not mean”—she stopped and emphasized again—“does . . . not . . . mean, I want Watts released. I want him to stay in that prison or any other prison where they put him all his mortal life.”

Allen then directly addressed the families who had lost a loved one. “With all of you, I share what we’ve been through, what we still go through, for life holds many things for us. And I want you to know, I’m so glad to be here with you.

“Again I have been honored to be with you.”

The crowd again burst into applause and several dabbed their eyes with tissue.

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The mission of the remembrance came to fruition with the presence of Joe Tilley, father of Watts’s first Texas victim, Linda Tilley. The congenial man from Temple, Texas, drove in with his wife and Linda’s mother, Carol Tilley, Linda’s sister, Lauren, and Lauren’s son and Linda’s nephew she never knew, Max.