DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997              TAG: 9704170371

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ANGELITA PLEMMER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   78 lines

SURVIVORS SEEK SOLACE IN SHARED GRIEF

Delores Anderson replays the scene over and over in her mind: A man is standing over her son, pumping bullets into his head, ending his life at 32.

Witnesses described how her son begged for his life and crawled on his hands and knees before a final bullet ripped through his brain.

``It's a pain that nobody should ever have to experience,'' said Anderson, a 56-year-old accounting technician. ``I try to ask the Lord not to let me have any remorse or hate in my heart . . . but it's hard not to.''

Her son, Reginald Anderson, would have been 34 next month. Instead, he died Sept. 9, 1995. His killer, Keith Columbus, was convicted of murder in March 1996 and sentenced to 43 years in prison.

Although the conviction has brought Anderson closure and peace of mind, it has not dulled the pain or memory of her son's violent death.

On Wednesday, Anderson and more than 50 other survivors and friends of homicide victims gathered at the Portside Pavilion for a candlelight vigil to remember their friends and family members. In its third year, the ceremony was held as part of National Crime Victim Rights Week, April 13-19.

Children and adults, carrying lighted white candles flickering from brisk winds, sat or stood side-by-side, finding solace in their shared grief. Mothers, fathers, widows, sisters and others relived the tragic moments that ended the lives of their loved ones.

They were all determined that the victims - black and white, young and old - would not be forgotten.

Several participants told the group how their lives had changed after the slaying of their loved one. A table laden with pictures of the dead amplified their impassioned pleas for justice and peace.

``Victims need some rights,'' said Gail Miller, whose son Michael Pelton was shot to death in Portsmouth on Nov. 7, 1995.

``There was nobody to testify for my son,'' Miller said. ``And yes, I'm still angry.''

``But with everybody here, it feels like the only place I belong,'' she said. ``I'm here to show my support to the others, too.''

Peggy Vaughan, who came with her daughter Sally, said they needed to come to send a message to the community. Her daughter, Elizabeth ``Marie'' Bickley, was killed in Portsmouth on Aug. 5, 1991. Harry ``Steve'' Caprio, Bickley's childhood friend and neighbor, was convicted of the murder.

``No one deserves to take the life of another, because life is too precious,'' Vaughan said. ``This will show that when people do wrong to someone, you will pay for it.''

After the 30-minute vigil, people gathered at a nearby hotel for a reception, where they continued to share stories and offer one another support.

``Dealing with the tragedy of having a person there at one moment and having them violently taken away at another moment is particularly devastating,'' said Diane Bryant, director of the victim-witness program offered by Portsmouth's commonwealth's attorney.

``For a lot of these victims, they were just like you or I. This was somebody's brother that was murdered, or somebody's son, or somebody's father, and that person had a life before this incident occurred,'' Bryant said.

Now, crime victims and their families are finding some hope in the city's declining crime rate.

Last year, after citizens, prosecutors and police started several citywide crime-fighting initiatives, Portsmouth's overall crime rate and violent crime rate dropped.

Compared with the previous year, overall crime dropped 4 percent in 1996. Violent crime dropped 29 percent - the first time in 13 years it had not risen. So far this year, police have recorded six homicides. In 1996, there were 23 slayings.

Participants in Wednesday's vigil said the community must take a united stand for progress to continue.

``It's important that all of us come together and show support,'' Anderson said. ``But not just the ones who have lost their loved ones, because the next one could be yours.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot

Delores Anderson, whose son was slain, joined other survivors and

friends of homicide victims Wednesday at the Portside Pavilion for a

candlelight vigil. KEYWORDS: CRIME VICTIMS FAMILIES

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