A memorial event was held Sunday at the Downtown Mall in honor of late University student Hannah Graham, last seen on Mall Sept. 13, 2014.
Graham’s remains were found Oct. 18, 2014 in an abandoned farm in Albemarle County. Police have arrested Charlottesville resident Jesse Matthew, who is charged with capital murder and abduction with intent to defile in the case.
Nonprofit organization Help Save The Next Girl organized the memorial event. It was co-founded by Gil Harrington after her daughter, Morgan Harrington, went missing from a concert at the John Paul Jones Arena in October 2009 . Her remains were found in late January 2010.
“We remember our murdered children everyday, and it’s also important the world remembers them,” Harrington said. “That’s why acknowledging the anniversary is a bittersweet and important thing to do as well.”
Members from various chapters of Help Save the Next Girl attended the memorial event, which took place at the Freedom of Speech Wall outside City Hall. Using chalk, attendees drew a mural to commemorate the anniversary of Graham’s disappearance.
“The Downtown Mall is ground zero for Hannah’s case,” Harrington said. “That’s our last image and knowledge of where Hannah was.”
Trina Murphy also helped organize the event. Her niece Alexis Murphy, a high school senior from Lovingston, Virginia, went missing in 2013.
Jane Vance, vice president of Help Save the Next Girl and the project’s main coordinator, chose to use a memorial to commemorate the anniversary, Murphy said. Vance is an artist and Morgan Harrington’s former teacher.
The mural consists of a patchwork of “HG2014” emblems to resemble the pins given out after her disappearance. The design was then replicated in different colors to represent the 37 different chapters of Help Save the Next Girl spanning middle schools, high schools and colleges, Murphy said.
Roughly 30 people attended the event and contributed to the mural, including members from the Help Save the Next Girl chapter of Rockbridge County High School. The event was publicized on the organization’s web page and shared on Facebook to encourage the community — including University students — to attend.
“We would have really liked more participation from U.Va. students,” Harrington said. “Given that, we also realize you have to allow individuals and institutions to grieve in their own way and their own style.”
Graham’s parents did not attend the memorial event.
The mural will remain on the chalk wall until it is replaced by another project.
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