It's been almost exactly three years since Heidi Lopez was shot to death by her husband, who then fatally shot himself, as she napped on the sofa in their Leesport home with her then 10-year-old daughter next to her.
Lopez, 33, was studying at Reading Area Community College to be a nurse and worked the night shift at a nursing home. About 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2021, she decided to get some sleep before going to work.
Liliana Lopez almost always seized her mom's naps as opportunities to lay next to her as she slept, and this night was no different.
The little girl was awaked by the gunshot that took her mother's life. It was a moment, she told an audience at the RACC's Miller Center auditorium, that tore her family apart.
"You were the glue that held everything together," said Liliana, reading a letter she wrote to her late mother.
Liliana, now 13, was one of the guest speakers at Safe Berks' annual Silent Witness March & Dedication honoring victims of domestic violence homicides and their loved ones.
Not a day has passed since without Lilliana thinking of her mother and how much she misses her.
"I miss lying in bed every day after school with you," she said. "I miss having breakfast, lunch and dinner together. I miss you doing my hair but now I do others. Yeah, we did all that stuff together even more ... Everything reminds me of you."
Those who took part in the march that preceded the presentation walked quietly through Reading from the Safe Berks headquarters on Chestnut Street to the Miller Center. Many of them carried signs with messages such as "Have the strength to speak up" or "End violence, promote peace."
Some wore shirts with the names -- or in some cases photos -- of loved ones who were killed as a result of domestic violence. Several carried red silhouettes representing loved ones murdered in domestic incidents, the cutouts each featuring a shield on which the story of how they died was written.
The event is held each October to observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This year was the 23rd time it was held in Berks County.
In all, Safe Berks CEO Beth Garrigan said during Monday's event, there have been 86 victims of domestic violence homicides in Berks since the organization began tracking them in 1999.
Those figures don't reflect the true numbers, she added, as there are many more victims whose killers are never officially identified or brought to justice.
Lilliana's aunt Heather Cisneros followed her young niece at the podium. She described her slain sister-in-law as her longtime best friend.
Marchers make their way down Penn Street Monday as part Safe Berks' annual Silent Witness Project. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
"She was going to school for nursing, working second shift in the nursing home and being the most amazing mother, best friend and sister I've ever known," Cisneros said. "She always made sure everyone was taken care of."
On Oct. 16, 2021, they were going to get together for one of their typical Saturday dinners at the Cisneros home. Heidi called to cancel, saying she may have gotten COVID-19.
After her sister-in-law's murder, Cisneros learned that her late brother-in-law had created a toxic and controlling environment for his wife and children, and he and Heidi had been arguing throughout the day before an exhausted Heidi decided to take a nap before going to work.
They suffered silently and in fear due to the stigma surrounding domestic violence, Heather said, adding that she hoped that her speaking publicly about the tragedy will encourage others to seek the help that is available through Safe Berks and its partners.
Participants in the Silent Witness March & Dedication read the shields on the silhouettes representing actual victims of domestic violence murders. The traveling memorial will remain Reading Area Community College's Miller Center through October. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Garrigan said one in three women and one in four men experience domestic violence during their lives. And half of the members of the LGBTQ community experience it.
"Domestic violence is not a private issue," she said. "It a community issue and a public health crisis. The widespread effects of domestic violence are devastating."
Solving the domestic violence problems requires a collective response from the community, she said.
Cisneros described a harrowing ordeal that began when their dinner was interrupted by her husband getting a call from one of his nephews saying, "Daddy shot mommy." She and her husband raced up Route 61 to Leesport and found the house aglow by the lights of emergency vehicles and filled with police officers and detectives.
She was led into the home and found their niece and nephews, with blood on their clothes, in the laundry room, away from the chaos.
Cisneros said she used to find it entertaining to watch real-crime stories and detective shows.
The Silent Witness Project serves as a traveling memorial. Safe Berks partners with community organizations to display the silhouettes and remembrance of the victims to bring awareness to the senseless violence, Garrigan said. It will remain on RACC's campus through the end of the month.
Reach out
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic abuse, contact the 24-hour Safe Berks hotline at 844-789-SAFE (7233) or text SAFE BERKS to 20121.