March remembers loved ones lost to violence in Rapides

Mark Baden wears a badge and carries a gun, but he struggled to keep his composure Saturday while remembering his sister, even though it's been more than 20 years since she was killed by her husband.

"It's as bad today as it was then," said Baden, a major with the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office.

Baden and others Saturday marched through downtown Alexandria to remember their loved ones, victims of violence, in the second annual Victims Rights Parade. Ina LaBorde led the march from the Holocaust Memorial down Fourth Street.

As she reached St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, she stopped and gazed up, then made the sign of the cross and walked on. There is no closure, not for her family, after the murder of her granddaughter, Courtney Coco.

Coco was 19 when she was found murdered in Texas. Her case remains unsolved.

"This is something that walks with you every day," she said. "People talk about closure. Let me tell you something about that. There is no such thing ever, not ever."

For some, closure may be possible, and LaBorde said she's happy for them. "But in our family, when we talk about Courtney, it's as bad that day as it was then."

Still, when Rabbi Arnold Task addressed the group, he said that although they share the sadness of violence, they must commit to do what they can.

"Each of us has a responsibility to help," Task said."Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor."

The march ended at the corner of Lee and Wisteria streets, where a tree was planted last year to remember victims of violence. Each person received a purple balloon and a marker so they could write their loved ones' names and a message on the balloons.

Task spoke again, telling them the balloons they were about to release were evidence, going up to the heavens, that they cared about one another. Then people took turns throwing dirt into the hold that had been dug for the new tree, before they released the balloons.

The march marks the beginning of National Crime Victims Rights Week.

Gloria Abraham lost her 19-year-old son, Jared Gillam, in 2012 when he was shot dead by a teen. She marched last year, and she was there again Saturday with another son, Jordan Gillam. "They said it's gonna be annual and, if it is, I'll be there," she said of the march.

She knows of more people who have lost relatives to violence and said they should join the march, to send a message that the community won't stand for continuing violence. "It might make a difference," said Abraham.

At a reception following the march, people spoke about their experiences. Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton mentioned the Coco case, saying that his office has been working with the Texas Ranger Division. He said those who work in law enforcement are no different than anyone else. They may be victims of violence, or have family members who are victims. They certainly don't forget the cases they've solved and those that they have yet to solve, he said.

Baden said there is help today for victims of violence that didn't exist when his sister, Andrea Baden-Broussard, was shot and killed by her husband,who then killed himself. "It's never too late. Never forget about your victims. You know, you'd think it would get better, 20 years ...

"I think it's made me better understand because I myself have been a victim."

Rapides Parish District Attorney Phillip Terrell recalled being with the late Fred Baden when he received the call telling him that his daughter had been killed. He also said he almost lost his mother five years ago after she was severely beaten by a man who had followed her home with the intention to rob her.

He said the door to the district attorney's office always is open for victims, which Johnny Giordano reiterated. An assistant district attorney, Giordano also is a survivor of violence, wounded in the 2007 downtown Alexandria shooting that killed his brother, Joey Giordano, and postal carrier Marty Thiels.

He said Terrell has stressed to his staff to let victims know how important they are to the DA's office, and that victims who might have criminal pasts must not let that deter them from seeking the help to which they are entitled.

"They're scared to come in because of that one reason," he said. "When you come in as a victim, you're just that. You're the victim, or a representative of a victim. You're not a defendant, you're not there for us to chastise you because of what you've been through. So please know that."

Stephanie Belgard, Courtney Coco's mother, said it was hard to believe she was still standing "because I really, truly, thought this was gonna kill me. And, I think that's the hardest thing to ever do, is bury your children, because that's not natural.

"They're supposed to bury you."

Belgard said she had to find peace and learn how to live again. "And if you don't let it go, it's like a slow-eating cancer that will just consume you."

She now works with the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children. She goes to conventions and keeps in contact with people around Louisiana who also have lost children, talking to them about their ordeals or just letting them vent.

"I just have hope that one day we will get some answers for Courtney," said Belgard. "We just want some answers. We just want some answers but, if we never get those answers, I gave it to the good Lord."