Lisa Garretson was my friend. Her murder was the most senseless act I have ever been faced with, and I am thankful that the case has finally been solved.

It was a complex investigation because it did not involve any of Lisa’s close friends. It was therefore all the more difficult to get clues. I think that the DeKalb Police Department deserves more credit than most people had given them (including myself). They did not give up, and I don’t think this case would have ever been solved in Chicago.

Speculation and misinformation colored Lisa’s character in many of the articles of our local papers. One reporter was even able to find an old roommate from 1983-84. I have never heard of her, neither have any of Lisa’s other close friends that I talked to.

I am disappointed that none of the papers tried to portray Lisa as she was. For some reason, they hinted at some possible drug connection that led to Lisa’s murder; perhaps typical of today’s reporting?

I am afraid that a reader who didn’t know Lisa would see her as a drug addict who lived for her next fix. This could not be further from the truth. I think the attribute that got her into trouble was her trust in other people.

Lisa was the kind of woman that would go out of her way to help others. She would take care of neighbors’ children, make cookies for everyone in the holiday season, and she was always there to talk to if she was needed by a friend.

She would even be left with abandoned cats. Word must have gotten out that she didn’t have the heart to bring them to the animal shelter. Somehow she could always find a good home for them.

When her neighbors came close to the delivery day for their second child, Lisa was “on call” to bring Becky to the hospital at any time. She had even offered to leave them her car since theirs had broken down.

Lisa had friends in every part of society. In fact, the funeral home in Streator had never held as many people as there were at Lisa’s funeral. She could talk with anyone and even put up with people she was not very fond of. Lisa just couldn’t say, “Get out of here. You bother me.”

I keep asking myself is there a lesson we are supposed to get out of her death, and for some reason I haven’t any idea what it might be. She was trusting. Should we not be trusting? She was helpful. Should we not be helpful? Or maybe it’s that old “only the good die young.” But that never made any sense to me either.

I had known Lisa for many years. I know that I am not the only one who can say that I was proud to be her friend.

Rene Hoeve

DeKalb Resident