Community pays emotional tribute to Lake in the Hills family
Holding glow stick candles in plastic cups, hundreds of people gathered Friday night outside a Lake in the Hills school weathering the dewy fog to remember a family killed in a murder-suicide last week.
Family members of 27-year-old Carla M. Lopez-Mejia, her son, Ezequiel Garcia, 11, and daughter, Ariana Garcia, 8, sat among mourners in rows of chairs in the Marlowe Middle School parking lot in an emotional farewell.
Lopez-Mejia strangled her two children before she hanged herself Jan. 10 in their home on Daybreak Drive.
Ezequiel was a sixth-grader at Marlowe, and Ariana was a third-grader at Martin Elementary School.
"It's just been a horrible tragedy for our community," said Amy Novalinski of Huntley, one of the organizers of the vigil. Her daughter, Bella, 9, is a fourth-grader at Martin. "It breaks my heart. We thought this was the best place to hold the vigil, in between the two schools."
Organizers chose to light candles in pink, blue and purple plastic cups to signify the favorite colors of Ariana, Ezequiel and Lopez-Mejia, she said.
Three balloons of those colors also were released by family members at the end of the evening.
"This has been an unbelievably gut-wrenching week for the entire community," said William Geheren, a Huntley Community School District 158 school board member.
The Rev. Max Striedl of St. Mary Catholic Church of Huntley delivered the opening prayer, saying the untimely deaths of Ariana, "Izzy" and Lopez-Mejia are a stark reminder of the brevity of life.
Upon hearing members of the Marlowe choir singing "See You Again" and a teacher's words about Ariana, the crowd erupted into gentle sobs as students hugged and consoled one another.
Marlowe Principal Henry Soltesz said the past week had been the toughest for the school community and he was heartened by the support offered by neighboring school districts, former employees and community members.
In Ariana's memory, Martin students will plant a tree this spring, while a plaque bearing Ezequiel's name will be placed on a bench at Marlowe.
Luis Garcia, the father of Ariana and Ezequiel, received hugs from students, parents and teachers. He said the family is coping with the pain one day at a time and that he just wanted to grieve with the community.