Candlelight Vigil Will Remember Crime Victims in Southwest Riverside County

The following is a news release from the district attorney's office:

Each year, in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office pays tribute to those who have lost their life to violent crime through a series of candlelight vigils held in three locations across Riverside County.

District Attorney Paul Zellerbach will address those in attendance at each event which will also feature a keynote speaker who lost a loved one to crime. Each keynote speaker is expected to talk about what they have endured and how they have coped with their loss.

The names of victims who have recently died will be read at each venue and candles will be lit to remember those who have been killed.

This year there will be a Mothers Against Drunk Driving “crash car” at the Indio vigil and at all three vigils there will be two victims’ memorial quilts on display which include stories from families of murder victims.

This year’s keynote speakers are:

Palm Desert, Tuesday April 8, at the Palm Desert Civic Center, 7 p.m.: Lory Gleason, whose son was killed in 2002 by an intoxicated driver after picking up his sister from Palm Desert High School. After her son’s death, Lory became active in Mothers Against Drunk Driving and continues to speak on the subject while also working closely with those in the criminal justice system.

Southwest, at Harveston Center at Harveston Lake Park, 40135 Village Road, Temecula, 7 p.m.: The wife of a man killed in 2011 when his vehicle was struck head-on by a pickup near the Soboba Casino. The driver of the pickup led police on a dangerous 13-mile pursuit from Beaumont prior to the fatal collision.

Riverside, at the Riverside County Historic Courthouse, 4050 Main St., 7 p.m.: The mother of Riverside County sheriff’s dispatcher Dominic Durden, who was killed in 2012 in Moreno Valley when his motorcycle was hit by a vehicle driven by an unlicensed driver. Since his death, his mother has formed a foundation in his honor which supports victims and provides scholarships for those going in to the public safety field through the Riverside Community College District.