Kristin's Speech
Good evening
I am honored that I have been given this opportunity to speak here tonight. It is hard to believe that 21 years have passed since the tragic loss of Beth.
I grew up in Groveland not too far away from the Brodie’s home. Although I had known them for a long time, it was not
until the summer of 1992 that I got the opportunity to really get to know Beth.
She was trying out for the varsity cheerleading squad. I was the captain and her older sister Dawn was also on the team. I can still remember Beth’s face at tryouts. She was so quiet, always smiling, and eager to do whatever it would take to make the team. You could tell that she looked up to her older sister and when she made the team you could see the joy in her face. We were all looking forward to the season. We had a wonderful group, a great coach in Mrs. Kaczor, and we even talked 3 boys into joining the team.
We practiced and started to plan for our upcoming competition routine. Because we had the 3 boys we were excited to try some new stunts. Beth was the tiniest little thing; hence we were always using her to test out the new tricks. Sometimes she would look at us with this certain face and I got the sense that she thought we may be crazy, but she smiled and always gave it her best. She was the epitome of the type of person you would want on your team. Never a quitter, always tried her best, and always smiling.
This past summer I was up in my attic trying to organize and pack for our move. I found myself getting side tracked looking through all of my old albums/scrapbooks. I came across 1992/1993. The pages were starting to rip and photos were beginning to fall out so I decided that I would put them into a new album. While doing this I found myself giggling out loud. The pictures of us practicing, on the bus, crying at one of our get togethers, our competitions, and of the sleepover we had at my house after competition.
Among all of those pictures was Beth, just as I had described her before. Being tossed in the air, lifted high up as part of some new pyramid we had thought up, smiling from ear to ear during competition, and laughing and having fun with us all.
Then as I turned the page my heart dropped. Here where the newspaper clippings about the day Beth was murdered, the trial, the sentencing, photos of her family and friends crying, and photos of him (Richard Baldwin). My giggling at silly pictures soon turned to a tear running down my cheek. Then one memory in particular came rushing back to me. One that I do not have any photos in an album of but I will have forever etched in my memory. One day after practice, we did what we had done so many times before. A bunch of us piled into my little toyota celica and we drove around laughing and singing. Seems like a relatively normal day in the life of a teen but for me it would be the last time I would hear Beth talk, laugh, or share her joy.
The next day Beth was murdered. I can still see her smiling face in my rear view mirror as if I the clocks have been turned back to that day.
In that moment I decided that I wanted to no longer remember the trial, the devastation, and the disbelieve that Richard Baldwin had caused by his heinous act. I wanted to remember Beth as she was in the photos I had in my album, as I saw her in my rear view mirror, smiling.
Now six months after I was sitting in my attic reliving that fall the Supreme judicial court has ruled that juveniles sentenced to life without parole will now be eligible for parole after serving just 15 years. This is to be retroactive making Richard Baldwin eligible to go before the parole board at any time now. This is what brings us all together tonight. To support Beth’s family as they will be faced with having to relive this travesty in front of the parole board. Comfort each other as these old wounds have become fresh once again and most importantly to advocate for Beth as she cannot advocate for herself.
It is clear, by looking around, that Beth has touched the lives of so many. We need to honor Beth and continue this support for not only Justice for Beth but for all of the other families that are going through this as well.
I am honored that I have been given this opportunity to speak here tonight. It is hard to believe that 21 years have passed since the tragic loss of Beth.
I grew up in Groveland not too far away from the Brodie’s home. Although I had known them for a long time, it was not
until the summer of 1992 that I got the opportunity to really get to know Beth.
She was trying out for the varsity cheerleading squad. I was the captain and her older sister Dawn was also on the team. I can still remember Beth’s face at tryouts. She was so quiet, always smiling, and eager to do whatever it would take to make the team. You could tell that she looked up to her older sister and when she made the team you could see the joy in her face. We were all looking forward to the season. We had a wonderful group, a great coach in Mrs. Kaczor, and we even talked 3 boys into joining the team.
We practiced and started to plan for our upcoming competition routine. Because we had the 3 boys we were excited to try some new stunts. Beth was the tiniest little thing; hence we were always using her to test out the new tricks. Sometimes she would look at us with this certain face and I got the sense that she thought we may be crazy, but she smiled and always gave it her best. She was the epitome of the type of person you would want on your team. Never a quitter, always tried her best, and always smiling.
This past summer I was up in my attic trying to organize and pack for our move. I found myself getting side tracked looking through all of my old albums/scrapbooks. I came across 1992/1993. The pages were starting to rip and photos were beginning to fall out so I decided that I would put them into a new album. While doing this I found myself giggling out loud. The pictures of us practicing, on the bus, crying at one of our get togethers, our competitions, and of the sleepover we had at my house after competition.
Among all of those pictures was Beth, just as I had described her before. Being tossed in the air, lifted high up as part of some new pyramid we had thought up, smiling from ear to ear during competition, and laughing and having fun with us all.
Then as I turned the page my heart dropped. Here where the newspaper clippings about the day Beth was murdered, the trial, the sentencing, photos of her family and friends crying, and photos of him (Richard Baldwin). My giggling at silly pictures soon turned to a tear running down my cheek. Then one memory in particular came rushing back to me. One that I do not have any photos in an album of but I will have forever etched in my memory. One day after practice, we did what we had done so many times before. A bunch of us piled into my little toyota celica and we drove around laughing and singing. Seems like a relatively normal day in the life of a teen but for me it would be the last time I would hear Beth talk, laugh, or share her joy.
The next day Beth was murdered. I can still see her smiling face in my rear view mirror as if I the clocks have been turned back to that day.
In that moment I decided that I wanted to no longer remember the trial, the devastation, and the disbelieve that Richard Baldwin had caused by his heinous act. I wanted to remember Beth as she was in the photos I had in my album, as I saw her in my rear view mirror, smiling.
Now six months after I was sitting in my attic reliving that fall the Supreme judicial court has ruled that juveniles sentenced to life without parole will now be eligible for parole after serving just 15 years. This is to be retroactive making Richard Baldwin eligible to go before the parole board at any time now. This is what brings us all together tonight. To support Beth’s family as they will be faced with having to relive this travesty in front of the parole board. Comfort each other as these old wounds have become fresh once again and most importantly to advocate for Beth as she cannot advocate for herself.
It is clear, by looking around, that Beth has touched the lives of so many. We need to honor Beth and continue this support for not only Justice for Beth but for all of the other families that are going through this as well.
