Conant grads remember slain classmate Laura Engelhardt

Conant High School students said goodbye to their high school careers Sunday, May 31, at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

The afternoon was filled with wild cheering from parents, the usual strains of "Pomp and Circumstance" and the spectacle of students jubilantly tossing their mortar boards. But Conant students also took a step back and paid tribute to a fallen classmate who died a little more than a month before she could share in their celebration.

Eighteen-year-old Laura Engelhardt was stabbed to death on April 18 at her Hoffman Estates home. Also killed were her father, Alan Engelhardt, 57, and her maternal grandmother, Marlene Gacek, 73.

D'Andre Howard, 20, who lived with the Engelhardts' oldest daughter Amanda, 23, and is the father of their young daughter, Stelliah, is charged in the killings.

Shelly Engelhardt, Laura's mother, who was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds and a collapsed lung in the attack, sat in the audience and watched the ceremony, which began with a moment of silence for Laura, whose name was mentioned along with the other graduates.

The seat Laura would have occupied was empty and covered with flowers.

Senior class President Sara Cruse, in her speech to the assembly, mentioned Laura, saying, "It's not about how many breaths you take. It's about the moments that take your breath away. We need to take advantage of every moment."

Before the ceremony, Shelly Engelhardt watched in tears as a poem written by Conant High School senior Alex Rose scrolled on a screen at the Sears Centre. It begins: "I didn't know you/But you've torn my heart in two/I didn't know you/But my prayers go out to you/I didn't know you/But you drove a community to its knees." The poem was accompanied by a picture of Laura.

"I have read the poem (it appears on the RIP Laura Facebook page), and it's a beautiful poem," she said. "It actually expresses I guess how a lot of the kids felt about what happened. It's a nice poem. My daughter touched a lot of people. A lot of people."

Although she has had other children graduate high school, Shelly Engelhardt had been excited about the prospect of seeing Laura follow in their footsteps.

"Laura had lots of plans," she said. "She was a smart girl."

Engelhardt, who sat with friends, her oldest daughter, Amanda, and her granddaughter Stelliah through the ceremony, was also full of praise for the Conant community.

"They have been fantastic," she said. "They have been very supportive. And they have shown their feelings for Laura, which I thought was beautiful, and helped to strengthen me."

She added that Laura had friends in the other two high schools celebrating graduations at the Sears Centre Sunday: Schaumburg High School and Fremd High School. Conant Principal Timothy Cannon said his graduating senior class had a lot to endure compared to other schools. He also praised the students' generosity.

"It has been a class that has given more than any other class in terms of their time and their commitment to the community," Cannon said, including raising more than $14,000 for the Engelhardt family. "It has been a roller coaster emotionally for this class and for us as a staff. The kids have done just a phenomenal job of hanging in there."

In addition to its fundraising for the Englehardts, the school plans to plant a tree, donated by a local landscaper, on campus to honor Laura. A memorial also still stands in the school's atrium.

Conant senior, Rachel Petrucci, said Laura's death shook the entire student body.

"Even though I didn't know her, the loss of her taught us all about how to cherish everybody around us," she said.

Cannon said Laura is on the mind of all Conant graduates, and he is also thinking of her whole family.

"What comes to mind is the remarkable strength of Shelly Engelhart and (her son) Jeff as they battle through this." said Cannon. "She has shown remarkable poise and class during such a difficult time for her family."

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