Peace Be The Journey (Cool Runnings)!

Derrick: I have sat through this entire trial and the one question I kept asking myself is why and how? Why were Mike and Nora taken so soon in the ‘twilight’ of their lives, and how did you get the drop on Mike? I am sure everyone who is forced into this situation has that same question, perhaps there is no suitable answer to this question because no matter what the response, it is not really enough. There were a LOT of questions about Nora and Mike, and in my mind I kept screaming the answers because Nora and Mike were my friends. They were OUR friends, Gary and I, Charlotte and Darrell, Marcia and Danny, Dee and Reed, Tim and Stephanie, Gary and Pam, Dave and Lugene, Terri and Brandon, Bob, Debbie, Nell, and so many others. They were OUR family Asja, Anthony, Christian, and their granddaughter Tatum, Rosemary, Kathy, -Allison, and others.  The question of why Nora had a flashlight in her hand at the time of her death seemed obvious to me and to anyone else who lived out in the Red Lake area. On May 1st there was a waxing crescent of a moon, 5 days after a new moon, which means it was really DARK out on Spring Valley Road in the 'Red Lake' area. The darkness out in that area was such that it enveloped you so that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. It was a scary kind of darkness if you were walking around out there and didn’t know where you were, and even if you did know some form of light was needed. Public electricity ended at Mike and Nora's property. Where we lived just off Spring Valley on Red Mountain Road, which is about a mile and a half from Mike and Nora's home, there was no public electricity. We used solar energy, and our house was usually dark with the exception of the ‘blue light’ from the television. Neighbors in the area called us the ‘blue light’ house because we chose to use the limited power we had to watch TV. Before they had public electricity, Mike and Nora would use their power to read books. Because our house was dark and had no window coverings we could see Mike and Nora’s house pretty well and knew Nora’s routine based on when the lights came on at the Dimuria property. My sister, who is mentally disabled, loved looking out the windows. When she saw the lights come on at the Dimuria house she would get really excited and make lots of noise and point in their direction, and Gary and I would say ‘Nora’s home!’ We were a tight knit little community out there and we (Gary and I) knew Mike and Nora for 17/18 years. Charlotte and Darrell knew them for 20 years, Marcia and Danny 20, Terri and Brandon 10, Gary and Pam 17/18, and on and on. We were friends who became family. We use to have ‘porch parties’ in the summer and each month the ‘porch’ would change but the guests stayed the same. We all hung out together because we cared about each other and liked spending time with each other whenever possible. When Gary and I were building our log cabin, Gary spent so much time in the emergency room, that I started calling Nora his girlfriend because she saw his ass more than I did. He was always in for a tetanus shot or having something sewn up or removed, and Nora was always the nurse. Nora and Mike helped us out a lot, as any friend or family member would. But I digress let’s get back to the flashlight. Nora's routine went something like this: she went to work at the clinic/hospital in Williams, she left early in the morning and she came home 12 hours later. Because I had to drive into Flagstaff every day I also had to be up early and would get home late. When Nora got up in the morning, Mike got up with her and they had breakfast/coffee together as Mike prepared her lunch for the day. Mike and Nora's outside lights were on just before dawn and they stayed on until Nora left for work. The outside lights came on again around 8:15 p.m. and stayed on until about 8:30 p.m. when Nora came home. Mike turned on the lights for Nora in the morning so she could see her way to her vehicle, and he turned them on at night so she could see her way from her vehicle to the house. Mike lived for Nora and Nora lived for Mike, he did everything for her, sometimes to the point of smothering, and she did the same for him. So on May 1st when Nora came home and there were no outside lights on, because Mike was unable to turn them on for her as he always did, she pulled out her flashlight so she could see her way. She stopped at the Tatum house because she saw a light on abd she probably figured Mike was in there preparing for guests they were expecting that weekend. Mike and Nora had just started renting out the Tatum house as an Airbnb/VRBO, and even though they had only rented it out a couple of times, the review(s) for the property and the owners were 5- star – AWESOME! Nora walked into the Tatum house. Who knows what she saw when she walked in, but we know she left in a hurry, leaving her lunch bag/purse there. She ran into the main house through the front door, which nobody used, and she became a moving target who didn't have a chance. The flashlight she was using to see was like a neon light to the person shooting at her. Why? Why did you have to be there when she got home? Why did you have to pursue her with gunfire as she ran for her life? Why did you have to stand over her and shoot her in the head? Nora and her curly red hair, which you made redder with her blood as she was running for her life, I am sure she was wondering why too.  Mike and Nora lived pretty simply on their 40 acres. He sold 10 acres to LP so he could bring electricity to his property. I am sure it was something Nora wanted more than Mike, but since Mike would do anything for Nora, it’s not surprising. As friends/family of Mike and Nora, you were always greeted the same way. Upon arriving at the Dimuria property you received a hug and a kiss…on the lips from Mike and Nora. No matter how you may have tried to avoid it, you would be greeted this way, and when you left, you left the same way, with a hug and a kiss. When I saw Mike and Nora in mid-April, we laughed and talked and drank and smiled. Mike would do his silly game with my sister to make her laugh, and Nora would play a card with her that only those two understood, and they would laugh. When it came time to leave Nora said to me, “We see Gary all the time. We don’t want to see him, we want to see you!” We laughed and I said “I’ll be back…don’t worry I will back soon.” And then they were gone. The dreaded hug and kiss are now cherished as that was the last time I saw Nora and Mike. They were smiling and we were all laughing. ‘I’ll be back.’ You took the time to say good-bye to your family and friends and let them know they wouldn’t be seeing you again. I am sure they will cherish those hugs and those kisses they got from you, even though they may have been confused by what you were saying. I am sure you will cherish those hugs and kisses too. BUT Mike and Nora didn’t get to say good-bye to their loved ones. They didn’t get to give them hugs and kisses and tell them “you won’t be seeing me again.” You took that away from them, just like you took away the peace in the little community that once lived out on Spring Valley Road. It is amazing how in just a blink of an eye everything can change. Mike called his daughter every morning, but on May 2nd she didn’t get a phone call from her dad. She got a call from the police, telling her her dad was gone. No more daddy’s little girl, just chaos and noise that I am sure hasn’t stopped. Mike’s sons will never hear their dad say he is proud of them or have their dad offer to help them. They will never get the opportunity to make their dad proud because no matter what they do now, their dad is not here. Tatum doesn’t have a Poppa and Grandma Nora anymore. She doesn’t have her doting grandparents anymore who think the sun rises and sets on her, so much so that they named their guest house just for her. No more porch parties or Fourth of July BBQs with laughter and smiles, horseshoes and corn-hole. No more Nora standing with her arms outstretched saying “What!?!” No more. The house is silent now, the kids won’t come here anymore, and the laughter and smiles have stopped. And all I want to know is WHY? Why couldn’t you have just taken their stuff and left…why take their lives? I guess for you it is better to be known as a murderer than just a thief? You are more of a thief because you stole their lives, but society will call you a murderer. Why? Your life sucked, I understand you were raised by someone called ‘animal’… how sad. When I heard that, I had to ask the question, did you just say ‘animal’? So now that you have done this, does it make your life suck less? Because I would think the sucky part hasn’t even started yet. There is a saying that goes, ‘just because you were raised by animals doesn’t mean you have to act like one.’ I guess they were wrong. Judge Slayton: Since Derrick decided that Mike and Nora didn’t deserve to see another day, I think the same should be decided about his freedom. I think he should be given the maximum sentence allowable for each count, to be served consecutively, and that there should be no possibility of parole for the two murder charges. See ya when I see ya! Peace! Mattie