Last week, I watched the opening arguments in the trial for the killer of Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley. I remember when the murder happened in February, we were in the midst of helping with our twins grandchildren, age 4 months old and the day to day tasks of our life. Bothered very much by the story an utter tragedy, I didn’t read much about the story on purpose as I just have too many visions of myself, family or friends running solo on college campuses. Having not read the story, the picture I had in my mind was a young woman up before dawn running by herself, putting herself at risk (I had done this as a college student occasionally, opting to get the run in before classes, so it was out of the way).
This was NOT the case with Laken Riley. She took off on a run around little before 9 am, well after daybreak. She and her roommates had an Ap on their phones, like many families do so that each one of them knew where the others were. She had a Garmin tracking device. When the young nursing student was attacked, she fought hard and left plenty of evidence for the investigators to identify her killer. Laken’s parents heard every detail and seeing her Mother-who looks just like her- hear the descriptions of what happened to her daughter were painful and heartbreaking to watch. This young lady, her friends and family did everything right in being cautious. The only thing more they could have done was taken along a friend or two. Safety in numbers.
Laken Riley on the left and her parents in court on Friday for her alleged killer’s trial.
No person deserves to be treated the way Laken Riley was. Period. Whether she was running solo or not, running in the daylight in a familiar place, myself like many other runners have taken that risk. As a student in Ann Arbor, myself and many of my friends would do the early morning run or the early evening run, setting out on a run before dinner. At this time of year, it was dark. I took that risk, wearing a Walkman with loud music. NOT A GOOD IDEA. We all could have met the same fate.
The lessons to be learned are first and foremost is what Laken and her friends did right. They had a system, her mother knew that something was wrong and the roommates went looking for her. They contacted the police and quickly they were able to get working. What they could have done was to not run solo.
Wouldn’t we all like to feel safe walking or running by ourselves? Of course! However, that is NOT the case. We were in New York a few months ago and we saw numerous running groups. I inquired and that seems to be the trend. People who run meet others in the same area and form running groups, small and large. We saw small groups of 3-5 people and groups a little larger. This is the new way to meet people, it’s healthier and safer than meeting in bars.
Sometimes parents shy away from bringing up uncomfortable subjects with their kids. You cannot think this way. Your kids lives are at stake here. This is the world we live in. It doesn’t mean you sit at home or on the sidelines, you just need to be smart. How many times do we go through our days on autopilot, going through the motions. No longer is that an option. Talk to your kids about being aware and intentional. Paying attention when they are walking home from the bus stop or when they get out of the car when they are driving. Parking their car so that when they exit the store and they are walking to their car, they can see around it, so park with driver’s door facing the store. Talk through these scenarios and others that you can think of as you are driving, making dinner or during meals. By talking about situations that could occur, you are teaching your kids to be observant, proactive and mindful. Talk to them about instinct and if they feel that a situation seems uncomfortable, it probably is.
This is not a perfect world, but it is what we have. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. If your child has a chance to take a self-defense class, it might be a good idea. A friend of ours taught his daughter and her friends a self defense class, he is a martial arts expert.
No these are not pleasant conversations to have. However, it is the tough conversations that are had in life that yield some of the best outcomes. To minimize chances of being a victim, educating yourself to help gain confidence and give ones self a sense of preparedness.
Fight with every fiber of your body to protect your kids from the evil in the world.
