Gone, but not forgotten as families remember murder victims in Monterey County

For long-time Salinas native Margarita Maya, the day she lost her son, Bryan, is forever ingrained in her mind. It was September 2nd, 2011 just days after he was shot in the restroom at the R.O.P. on East Laurel Drive.

“How can someone be so cold-hearted and just take someone’s life for no reason, without even knowing him or who he was,” Maya said.

Bryan was 18 and loved sports, mainly the Giants and Raiders, but now his photo is on a remembrance wall with other victims of violent crime in Monterey County.

“A lot of people say with time it heals,” said Maya holding back tears. “It never will heal because he was your child. His life was cut short for no reason.”

Nowadays, Maya finds support with other families who have also lost loved ones. They are all part of Monterey County’s Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. On Friday, dozens came together at the Monterey County Board of Supervisors Building in Salinas in honor of National Remembrance Day for Murder Victims.

Angie Ortega is the chapter leader. She, too, lost a child. Lauraine was 23 when she was killed in 1993. Ortega hopes this group can help family members process their grief and maybe even prevent these crimes.

“If we were just buried in our grief for the rest of our lives, that’s not honoring our loved one,” Ortega said. “So we have to get out and give our loved ones a voice. Speak for them.”

Salinas has been plagued with violent crime for years. Since 2015 there have been 99 homicides in the city. On Friday, Salinas Police Chief Adele Frese spoke, not only as the city’s top cop, but as someone who lost a nephew to violent crime.

“There are many victims, including us, the police,” said Frese “The police are apart of this community and as a community we need to come together. We need to work together to solve crimes but more importantly prevent crimes.

As for Maya, she finds some peace knowing that Salinas Police Department was able to find the person who shot her son, someone he didn’t even know, but she and the rest of the organization are still working to prevent this kind of pain, the pain they still live with every day.

Watch reporter Paul Dudley’s story above.