Standing Up for Violent Crime Victims

There is no pain worse for a parent than losing a child, especially at the hands of a killer. The void and anger can be debilitating, if you let it. "My daughter was murdered in June of '94,” Birdie Frink said. Birdie and Barry Frink's youngest daughter Amy was murdered in Brunswick County 15 years ago, just shy of her 19th birthday. It was a brutally cold, heartless killing. "When Amy died, my husband and I didn't know what to do,” she said. Citizens have sponsored a billboard along Highway 17 in Leland, hoping to help another family find answers. On this day, Birdie and other volunteers were setting up for the group’s 14th annual vigil honoring victims of violent crime. Hip replacement surgery was not about to stop her. The first list of victims had 13 names in 1995, now there are well over one-hundred. Birdie Frink says that while supporting the survivors of violent crime is important so is standing up for them. "Advocate for victims rights. We try to reach out to the community and let them know about the bills that are about to be passed. Some we support, some we don't" And she lets our elected representatives know about it. Birdie Frink still feels the death of her daughter daily. "Part of your body is just ripped out of you." But she has filled that void with a mission dedicated to her daughter's memory. Birdie says her husband Barry is her quiet strength. He's been waging his own fight with cancer but he too remains committed to justice for citizens and victims rights.