 |
|
Community
mourns a murder, two young lives
 |
| On Monday
villager Deborah Dillon, below, planted a flower in a downtown Xenia
Avenue garden created to show support for the families of Lopez and
Rittenhouse. |
Yellow Springs mourned this week,
as the remains of a young man missing for two years
were discovered. And along with mourning, many villagers were stunned
by news that an event allegedly happened that most thought could never
happen here, as one of its young people was charged with killing another.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, Michael Rittenhouse, 20, was
arrested for aggravated murder, charged with killing his classmate Timothy
Lopez, a Yellow Springs High School senior who vanished two years ago. At
1 a.m. Friday, law enforcement officials found in the backyard of Rittenhouse’s
Allen Street home the remains of a body, which was identified later that
day by the Greene County coroner as Lopez.
On Friday, Feb. 20, Rittenhouse was arraigned in
Xenia Municipal Court, charged with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery,
gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors said that
they are seeking the death penalty.
As the week progressed, many villagers, especially
young people, struggled with a range of emotions, including shock, disbelief,
anger and fear. Many found solace in gathering together and several events
offered people an opportunity to share their confusion and sorrow. Above
all, Yellow Springers expressed concern and caring for the two families
torn apart by the tragedy, and many seemed to find comfort in a renewed
sense of community, a heightened sense of how closely linked are the lives
lived in a village.
“I feel deep love and compassion for both families
and for Michael,” Yellow Springs High School teacher Elizabeth Lutz
said at a gathering Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. “I
feel the grief and loss of two of our children.”
This week, villagers continue to cope with the events
in a variety of ways. Downtown in front of the Gemini World Music &
Art Gallery a garden sprang up in the hard winter dirt, its flowers a symbolic
gesture of caring for the families of Tim Lopez and Michael Rittenhouse,
said the garden’s creators, who encourage people to add flowers or
other tokens.
“I feel we can’t manage alone. We really
need each other,” said Joyce Appell, who created the garden along
with her husband, Charles Funderburk, and Gemini owner Ken Simon. “It’s
a physical expression that people can care and love even in the face of
great fear and grief.”
And a group of local people has organized a community
memorial and healing service for this Sunday, Feb. 29, at 4 p.m., at the
First Presbyterian Church.
“I think we need healing,” said Pam Davis,
one of the organizers.
One of Yellow Springs’ most disturbing and
surreal weeks began late in the afternoon last Wednesday, Feb. 18, when
members of the Greene County sheriff’s office and the local police
arrived at the home Michael Rittenhouse shares with his mother, Gilah Pomeranz,
and his brother, Nick Rittenhouse, at 430 Allen Street. Rittenhouse’s
father, Bill Rittenhouse, lives in Springfield.
Tipped off by an informant, the sheriff’s
department and other law enforcement officials searched the home for evidence
and the property for Lopez’s remains. By around 9 p.m. neighbors were
gathered outside the home as backhoes clawed the frozen dirt and Miami Valley
TV crews prepared to broadcast the late night news. Flood lights and emergency
vehicle headlights lit the area as cadaver dogs searched for a body. But
none was found, and the search was called off after midnight.
Most villagers first became aware of the unfolding
tragedy when a photo of the Rittenhouse home, illuminated by search lights,
appeared on Thursday morning’s front page of the Dayton Daily News.
The Xenia Daily Gazette and Springfield News-Sun also carried front-page
stories on the search. Later that day, the sheriff’s department issued
an arrest warrant for Rittenhouse, whose whereabouts were unknown. That
afternoon Rittenhouse contacted Yellow Springs police and turned himself
in by evening. That development was reported on the late night news as television
crews broadcasted from the Rittenhouse’s home, where law enforcement
officials resumed their search for Lopez’s remains.
Alerted by the news reports, some villagers went
to the scene of the digging, which began around midnight. Among those present
during the cold night were Neal Crandall and Pam Davis, whose son had been
a friend of both Lopez and Rittenhouse while in high school.
“These kids are like my kids,” Davis
said, about why she wanted to come. “It’s a village.”
Also present were a group of Yellow Springs High
School students, all of whom knew both Lopez and Rittenhouse.
“I need some closure on Tim,” YSHS sophomore
Chelsea Alexander said on why she was there.
About 1 a.m. authorities announced that they had
found human remains. Among those present was Jennie Hudson, who had been
Tim Lopez’s nanny for five years, taking care of him when his mother,
Barbara McQuiston, had to leave home for business. Because McQuiston now
lives out of state and wasn’t present, Hudson felt her presence was
necessary.
“I felt strongly that if they found him I wanted
to be there, to represent the family,” she said.
On Friday morning, after news of Rittenhouse’s
arrest and the discovery of the remains had settled over the village like
an uneasy fog, conversations in Tom’s Market, local coffee shops and
up and down Xenia Avenue seemed focused on only one topic — how could
this be?
“I can’t wrap my mind around it,”
said Karen Stillwell-Current, the co-owner of Current Cuisine. “We
know every kid and every parent involved and we love them all.”
The sense of unreality was heightened on Friday
by the ubiquitous presence of news teams from four Dayton television stations,
along with one from Columbus. Villagers walking downtown found themselves
pursued by reporters with microphones, and at the high school, administrators
forbid news teams from talking to students, although reporters still found
ways to broadcast from the school grounds.
On Friday and over the weekend, after Yellow Springers
learned that prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for Rittenhouse,
people continued to try to grasp that something seemed to have gone terribly
wrong in the village. Those who knew Rittenhouse, who grew up in town, and
Lopez and their families especially struggled for understanding.
Known by many adults as a young man of uncommon
politeness, Rittenhouse would, when meeting adults on the street, look them
in the eye and say a cheery hello. He is also well-known for his ready smile
and gregarious nature.
“Mike is very outgoing, very loyal and dedicated
to his friends,” said YSHS Principal John Gudgel. “He loves
sports. He’s out there. Everyone knows Mike.”
A longtime family friend, Rick Nickels, described
Rittenhouse as “one of the nicest kids you’d ever want to meet.”
Rittenhouse used to babysit for his young children, Nickels said, and he
seemed good with children. “He seemed a calm, mild-mannered kid. He
was always the most polite person.”
A summer employee at Young’s Jersey Dairy
for three years, Rittenhouse was popular with both customers and co-workers,
the business’ co-owner Ben Young said.
“We always tried to get more hours out of him.
He was a great employee,” said Young.
YSHS football coach Jerome Crosswhite coached both
Rittenhouse and Lopez during their high school years and worked with Rittenhouse
when he volunteered as an assistant coach. “They were both good young
men,” Crosswhite said. “I was shocked. I still am shocked. I
think the whole town is shocked.”
Less well-known in town because his family lived
outside of Clifton, Lopez was remembered by those who knew him as a kind
and caring young man.
“Tim was a very sensitive, energetic and considerate
boy,” said Hudson, his former nanny. “To say he was a great
kid is not enough. He was like my little brother. We prayed for him every
night.”
The town’s young people have been especially
disturbed by the news, Gudgel said.
“All of us are stunned. It’s had a profound
impact,” he said of the high school’s reaction. “What
we saw was two good young men, two good kids that somehow — sometimes
there are underlying things impacting them that we don’t know about.”
On Sunday evening, more than 100 people gathered
at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Goes for, as organizer Karen
Swinger said, a time to “express ourselves and comfort each other.”
The gathering was somber and meditative, as one
by one people lit candles and discussed their feelings. Throughout the gathering
tears flowed freely, especially when Swinger read a letter from Michael’s
mother Gilah Pomeranz.
“This is an unimaginable nightmare for both
Tim’s family and ours,” wrote Pomeranz, who thanked the community
for its support. “You have given us the hope that sometime in the
future we may again know peace.” Pomeranz also submitted the letter
to the News. It is published on page 4.
Many who spoke expressed their caring and concern
for both Lopez’s family and for the Rittenhouse family, who have lived
in town for many years. Mothers and fathers offered love and support to
difficulties faced by both Tim’s parents and Michael’s.
“We pray that God will keep our children safe
from harm,” said Ann Cooper. “But when they’re harmed
we pray that we will be given the strength and grace to continue.”
Many young people spoke of their sorrow at the loss
of Lopez and also expressed their caring for Michael Rittenhouse and his
younger brother.
“With a tragedy as great as this, people feel
the need to simplify,” said YSHS senior Aaron Zagory. “I’m
glad we can share the love we have for both Mike and Tim. I’m relieved
to see that tonight, especially with Mike, to know that our caring for Mike
doesn’t detract from our grief and sorrow at the loss of Tim.”
Several adults spoke to the young people present
about how much the community values its children and teenagers.
“I don’t think you kids understand that
we all feel like your parents,” Swinger said. “We watch you
grow up, watch you swimming, watch you playing soccer. When something like
this happens, it scares us.”
Some people said they were grateful for the opportunity
to gather together.
“I’m thankful I live in a place where
this tragedy is acknowledged as a tragedy, where it affects us personally
and people can cry out loud,” said Laurie Dreamspinner. “I pray
we use this period of mourning and healing to keep our hearts more open
to each other.”
The questions, the struggles and the mourning continued
into this week, as new roses and daisies, symbols of love, overflowed the
winter garden downtown. —Diane
Chiddister
Lauren Heaton contributed to this article.
|
Community
memorial service this Sunday
A community memorial service and time
for healing will be held on Sunday, Feb. 29, at 4 p.m., at the First
Presbyterian Church.
The event is organized by a group of local residents. For information,
call Pam Davis at 323-3793. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
