NORFOLK, Va. —
Shana Turner is the founder of Hampton Roads Mothers Against Senseless Killings (M.A.S.K.). She started the organization after her son, Shaquille, was killed in 2017.
“He was murdered leaving work to go pick up his fiancée,” Turner said. “I’ve never been the same, but he was a beacon of light.”
Turner describes her son as a comedian, saying people still tell her about the impact he had on their lives.
Turner co-hosted a crime victims' rights forum Tuesday night, alongside Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Pastor Calvin Durham of New Hope Church of God in Christ and local law enforcement leaders.
Among the attendees were parents and loved ones of those lost to violent crime, and whether it’s been two years or two decades since their loss, they all agreed that the emotional wounds stay fresh.
“This year marks 20 years, and it’s still as fresh in my mind today,” Janis Taylor told the audience. Her son, Purnell was killed in 2004 at the age of 29.
“When you bury a child, it's different than when you bury someone else,” said another parent who lost her son to gun violence. “Because they’re a part of you.”
“I used to make plans,” said another. “But ever since my son has been gone, I don’t make plans, I just take it day by day."
Miyares, along with local law enforcement leaders, listened to their stories and shared the resources available to them through their offices.
“We have an identification program where we can hide your identity if you’re too scared to testify,” explained Miyares. “We worked with the governor to set up the first victim-witness protection program in the entire state in the history of Virginia to protect individuals.”
He also highlighted his office’s cold case unit as a way for some families to find justice. He cited finding a suspect in the 1980s Colonial Parkway murders, when at least eight people were killed over three years to show how new technology is helping solve cold cases. In January, a dead fisherman was named as the suspect thanks to genetic testing.
Miyares added that families want to avoid becoming a number in the busy criminal justice system.
“One mom shared with me she felt like she received a life sentence the day she lost her child,” he said. “So many of them describe their lives as before and after. And tragically a lot of them feel like the criminal justice system has forgotten them.”
Turner says, that though grief never stops, there are ways to push on.
“It’s never time to get over your loved one because if you stop thinking about them that means they don’t exist anymore,” she said. “Try to get out and do things, you know exercise, therapy, things like that. And make sure you have the right support system around you.”