Rafiel Torre was found guilty in August 2005 of murdering our son-in-law Bryan Richards in December 2001. In late September, Rafiel was sentenced to life in prison. His lawyer said he will appeal. Meanwhile, a civil trial on related matters is scheduled to begin in May 2006.
Bryan was our beloved son-in-law and father to two of our wonderful grandchildren. He was proud of his profession: refurbishing and reselling medical equipment and building medical centers. He was especially conscientious about refurbishing defibrillators, used on heart attack victims; as he once solemnly said, "They HAVE to work, there's NO margin for failure."
He helped us pick our house, worked on refurbishing and retrofitting it, invited us over weekly for BBQs, loved his kids, loved golf and fishing, and loved life. We miss him very, very much.
Once legal matters have been settled, we hope healing and renewal can proceed, and we ask all for their support in that nurturing effort.