22nd Annual Candlelight Memorial Service remembers victims of homicide

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — Death is inevitable. Sadly, many families and community members gather in Leland once a year to remember victims of homicide over the years.  This was all part of the 22nd Annual Candlelight Memorial honoring victims of homicide.

“This is a way to unite the community in a five county area that my brother and I are so privileged to represent to bring together these families. We always do it the Friday night before right before Thanksgiving, to say that your loved ones might have died in an instant but they’ve lived for a lifetime,” Ben David, New Hanover Count District Attorney, said.

The memorial, hosted by District Attorneys Jon and Ben David, honors victims in Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties. Many families say the night means a lot, but also brings up a lot of sadness.

“It is bittersweet. But not just during this time, it’s everyday processing. It hits you- it comes in waves. You have your good days, you have your bad days,” Cassie Cano, who was remembering Charles Eugene Barsh, said.

“But everybody in here, we are on the same page. We lost someone. And unfortunately it was my son,” Deborah Greene, who was remembering Montez Greene, said.

Many say coming together for support makes the suffering a bit easier.

“It’s an open understanding with everybody here that everybody’s in pain right now,” Cano said.

DA Ben David says Governor Roy Cooper declared November 20 to December 20 as Homicide Memorial Month. This is in order to help remember and pay respect to those who lost their lives.