2008 Woodie Awards
Victim's father speaks at annual 'Take Back the Night' vigil
Bill Mitchell speaks at event for first time since his daughter's death in 2005
Justin Lohr '08
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: News
On Tuesday, members of the Rape Education and Prevention Program (REPP), along with the Counseling Center, held the 8th annual Take Back the Night Vigil at the Chapel of Saint Joseph.
This year's vigil was of particular importance for the Saint Joseph's community as the keynote speaker was Bill Mitchell, whose daughter, Kristin, '05, was stabbed to death by her boyfriend on June 3, 2005.
This was the first time Mitchell had spoken at Take Back the Night, although he has spoken at other university events honoring his daughter. He was invited by REPP to speak at the event, and showed a stirring PowerPoint presentation of images of his daughter before giving his speech.
In his speech, he narrated the events of his and Kristin's life between her graduation and her death a little over three weeks later. In particular, he noted the first time he met Kristin's boyfriend at her graduation and how, even then, he felt uncertain, but trusted his daughter's judgment.
"It was the last time I and my son saw her, and the first time we saw him," he said.
He went on to explain the events leading up to how he discovered that Kristin had been murdered. After being contacted by the Howard County, Maryland Police, he was informed of his daughter's death while he was in a supermarket near his home.
"It was at the automatic doors that I heard a parents' worst nightmare," he remembered. "On the way home, I counted out all the things that would never happen-her wedding, grandkids, Christmas visits."
He spoke to the Saint Joseph's community in order to promote awareness about the dangers and prevalence of domestic violence and how it can be present in even the most perfect-seeming relationships. Kristin's last e-mail to him, written only hours before her death, mentioned how she had trouble dealing with her controlling boyfriend, and he offered this as an example of a warning sign that both he and Kristin failed to notice.
He concluded his speech by discussing Kristin's Krusade, an annual walk to raise awareness about domestic violence that was started by some of Kristin's friends. The event has been held at Saint Joseph's University every year since Kristin's death, and plans are already underway for this year's walk.
This year's vigil was of particular importance for the Saint Joseph's community as the keynote speaker was Bill Mitchell, whose daughter, Kristin, '05, was stabbed to death by her boyfriend on June 3, 2005.
This was the first time Mitchell had spoken at Take Back the Night, although he has spoken at other university events honoring his daughter. He was invited by REPP to speak at the event, and showed a stirring PowerPoint presentation of images of his daughter before giving his speech.
In his speech, he narrated the events of his and Kristin's life between her graduation and her death a little over three weeks later. In particular, he noted the first time he met Kristin's boyfriend at her graduation and how, even then, he felt uncertain, but trusted his daughter's judgment.
"It was the last time I and my son saw her, and the first time we saw him," he said.
He went on to explain the events leading up to how he discovered that Kristin had been murdered. After being contacted by the Howard County, Maryland Police, he was informed of his daughter's death while he was in a supermarket near his home.
"It was at the automatic doors that I heard a parents' worst nightmare," he remembered. "On the way home, I counted out all the things that would never happen-her wedding, grandkids, Christmas visits."
He spoke to the Saint Joseph's community in order to promote awareness about the dangers and prevalence of domestic violence and how it can be present in even the most perfect-seeming relationships. Kristin's last e-mail to him, written only hours before her death, mentioned how she had trouble dealing with her controlling boyfriend, and he offered this as an example of a warning sign that both he and Kristin failed to notice.
He concluded his speech by discussing Kristin's Krusade, an annual walk to raise awareness about domestic violence that was started by some of Kristin's friends. The event has been held at Saint Joseph's University every year since Kristin's death, and plans are already underway for this year's walk.
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BillMitchell
Bill Mitchell
posted 4/16/08 @ 9:02 AM EST
This article was a powerful encapsulation of the Take Back the Night evening. My compliments to the SJU reporter for superior work.
I was honored to have been asked to speak at this event. (Continued…)
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