1996

Four years ago today, Jan. 27, 1992, the lifeless bodies of Gerri Faye, Jessica and MacKenzie Butts were found in their trailer home on Walnut St. in Atlanta.

Their family and friends refuse to let their memories die, too.

The annual Butts memorial candlelight vigil will be held today, beginning at 6 p.m., at the gazebo in downtown Atlanta.

Family members and friends will hold a silent prayer and will walk from the gazebo to the murder scene.

The remembrance has been held every Jan. 27 since the unsolved murders, but attendance has dwindled with each passing year.

Gerri Faye, 29, Jessica, 11 and MacKenzie, 3, died violently four years ago. Gerri Faye was choked to death; Jessica strangled with a telephone cord; and the baby was drowned in the bath tub.

One suspect was arrested, but a Cass County Grand Jury refused to indict him because of lack of evidence.

The case generated interest nationally with an article in Gentleman's Quarterly magazine, and appearances by family members of the victims and the accused on tabloid television shows.

Much has changed in four years. Two of the primary figures in the case -- former Atlanta Police Chief Mike Scott and former Cass County District Attorney Neal Birmingham -- have both retired. It was Birmingham who declared that he must be on
the wrong side due to what he considered weak evidence during the probable cause hearing for the now no-billed suspect.

And yet, not much has changed. The Butts are still dead.
Families and friends still grieve. A killer still walks the streets. And the trail grows cold. Queried about the case when he took over for Scott, new Atlanta Police Chief Mike Ahrens said he would review the file.

But there was no hope in his voice. Few fumbles are picked up and returned for touchdowns.

Anyone interested in honoring the memories of the mother, her preteen daughter, and her baby girl are invited to join family members and friends this evening at the gazebo. Bring your own candle if possible -
Nothing will return the bodies of the Butts to this Earth, but the flicker of a candle's flame is a ray of hope and a symbol of their spirit. And that's all there is left. A flicker of hope. An unspoken prayer that someday, somehow, somewhere, the killer will face his Maker and be held accountable.

The Lord dispenses final justice.

Sonny