Abhijit Mahato, Eve Carson, Stolen Lives and the Devastation of a Murder

Abhijit Mahato had everything to offer. The 29-year-old Duke graduate was a PHD candidate in his second year at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. He had worked for two years at the GE Global Research Center and as the new year began the young man from India was hard at work on an industry funded research project in North Carolina. His engineering work with a computer simulation technique had earned him respect with a research team.

This promising young man was found shot to death in his apartment in January. His hopes, dreams, contribution to the world was violently stolen away from us all. His parents son was gone. His friends could no longer share time with him or bask in his ever present smile. Duke students and the community were in fear. A family began its long journey of mourning. Mahato's life was over.

A second murder of a college student last week has once again shocked the area. Eve Carson, beautiful, intelligent, active student body president gone, murdered in the street. On March 13, 17-year-old Lawrence Lovette has been arrested as a suspect in both murders. Two highly productive and promising lives destroyed, callously taken away with no regard to their value to friends, family and their communities, the world.

Over 25 years ago, my family was devastated by the murder of a young Maine State Police Officer, Thomas Merry. A heavy cloud of heartache, shock, hopelessness and yes, seething anger shrouded the community of law enforcement officers and their families. On that night my father was doing a ride along with a fellow officer and Maine State Police Sergeant. After a few hours they met with Tom and Dad switched places with him, went off in his own vehicle to patrol our town.

Tom and the Sergeant had a call, a high speed chase was taking place in a nearby village and they were needed for a road block set-up. The Sergeant positioned the vehicle in the road just off of a bridge that was a few hundred yards away from a busy 4-way intersection. The speeding vehicle had to be stopped before the driver got to the area where citizens would be in high danger. They got out of the cruiser and could hear the speeding car roaring down a hill toward where they were. The young driver had to have seen the bright blue cruiser but he did not stop. Tommy and the sergeant ran to get away from the parked cruiser but in the seconds that ticked by the young husband and father ran the wrong way. He was crushed in the violent crash.

This was a young man with a law enforcement career ahead of him. He had a baby boy at home with his wife and he lay by the roadside where the impact had thrown him. Hours later my father helped pick up the broken body before he made his way home to tell us of the terrible news. This was a young man who had been in our home, one that I had made fun of as I was want to do with the officers who shared our lives. We were weighed down with grief. In the days and months that followed we reached out in various ways to Tom's family and the family of law enforcement officers. We had to move on. We had to commemorate and honor the memory of this young man.

At times anger increased when the driver who I truly believed was a negligent murderer got a sentence that would have him free in a few years. It was all so senseless. Tom's family, law enforcement, friends and my family all were bound by this theft of life. I met his mother through the writing of an editorial I penned to the local paper as I tried to deal with emotions. A wonderful lady who adored her children she moved day by day through her grief as did the rest of the family. My words helped her and others in Tom's family. In this I at least felt like I'd done something. Dealing with a murder is such a feeling of impotence. Nothing can be changed, nothing undone. No matter how many times you go to sleep and wake up the nightmare is true and ongoing. My heart goes out to the families of both Abhijit Mahato and Eve Carson. Murder is the ultimate theft. It is cruel and agonizing to endure as a survivor. You find yourself wondering about your friend or loved ones last moments. You could drive yourself mad with it.

The Mahato and Carson mourners need to be able to talk and vent and all feelings. They need others to listen and love unconditionally. Everything within them is now tested, faith, hope, belief in a future. These families need to support and be supported. They need the love and prayers of those who know them best. It is most important that they see the value of their lost loved ones are known and that Abhijit and Eve's lives were treasured. I believe prayer will help. I know love will help. There will be trials ahead and a renewed agony as the justice system moves forward. Time will move forward, days that the family will tick off as numbers without their children, Holidays empty of their presence and reminders of all those life events undone. Their may be justice and a closure of sorts but I know you move forward as best you can but it is never over.