Candlelight Vigil Honors Violent Crime Victims

Dozens of murder victims' family members gathered in Temecula today for a candlelight vigil to honor National Crime Victims Rights Week.

Members of the District Attorney's office, family members, law enforcement and political officials lit candles and listened to testimony of those affected by violent crime.

Andrea Golden, the mother of Robert Golden, who was stabbed to death in Lake Elsinore, talked about her loss.

Her son was stabbed to death in 2005 in his apartment by his girlfriend, Amalia Catherine Bryant.

The son was able to call his mother before his death. She rushed to the apartment to catch the killer red-handed. "My son was lifeless in front of the door… she had his blood on her hands," Andrea Golden said. "She had just stabbed him in his precious heart."

She now raises the twin boys her son and the killer brought into the world.
"To say my heart was broken was an understatement," she told the crowd of more than 100. "The silver lining to this is I have my grandsons… they have his tender, beautiful heart."

Saskia Burke and Samuel Vanettes, victims of two Murrieta homicides in December 2011, were also remembered during the vigil.