Fire Destroys Gazebo Meant To Honor Victims Of Crime
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- Golden Police and Fire Department investigators are trying to find whoever is responsible for a fire that destroyed a gazebo at the memorial Courage Garden located behind the Jefferson County Courthouse and Administrative offices. The fire started on Wednesday night.
It was much more than just a fire. It was an attack on the memories of victims of crime. Mary Lou Segura and her husband come there often to remember their grandson Donny who was called "Baby Ro'mello" Romero.
"This is a tragedy; I think it is. I just can't believe something like this could happen in such a public place," Mary Lou Segura said.
She then added chilling words about what brought them there, "Baby Ro'mello was just turning three when his cousin murdered him."
His picture was there along with his favorite character, the hulk.
The gazebo itself was dedicated to Jefferson County Sheriff's Sgt. Timothy Mossbrucker who was shot to death in 1995. He was first on the scene as a gunman at an Albertson's grocery store gunned down his estranged wife and the store manager before opening fire on Sgt. Mossbrucker.
That year Victim Outreach requested and received land for a memorial garden for victims of crime. County employees were included to be remembered.
As Mary Lou Segura put it, "This sacred place where families come to sit and concentrate."
It was around 7 p.m. Wednesday when the fire was reported. It's being investigated as a likely case of arson. Baby Ro'mello's items were on a tree that burned. His family can't understand why anyone would do this. Just as they still can't understand why he had to die.
Leo Segura, Baby Ro'mello's grandfather, wondered without an answer, "Why him he was almost three when it happened."
The garden is dedicated to innocent victims of crime past present and future. They have now been victimized once again.
