ORLANDO, Fla. – The community honored victims of homicides Tuesday afternoon to make sure they're not forgotten.
The event, put on by the Bereaved Survivors of Homicide and the Orange County Sheriff's Office Victim Advocates, was part of the 12th annual National Day of Remembrance.
Tara and Ken Samsudean were guest speakers. Their daughter, Sasha Samsudean, was murdered in her downtown Orlando apartment in 2015.
The Samsudeans visit with victims' families twice a month to share stories. They hope it will help in the grieving process.Â
"I didn't have the emotion because I was in shock. It took me 18 months to actually feel her absence and even today I still feel like one day she is going to walk through the door," Tara Samsudean said.Â
Rainbows are a reminder for the Samsudeans. They were on the couple's wedding invitations, a story they would often share with Sasha, and a special symbol for them.Â
"I feel beyond this world there's some sort of communication that happened and I feel that's the way she is communicating with us. The rainbows putting a smile on our faces," Tara Samsudean said.Â
She, along with other victims who lost loved ones, hung purple ribbons on an oak tree in Langford Park.Â
Kiwana Cudjoe's was among them. Her fiance was killed in June.Â
"It means a lot to me. It means that somebody else is thinking about him as I am," Cudjoe said. "I am glad that they do something every year for people like him. Their lives were taken away for no apparent reason."
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings and Orlando Police Chief John Mina attended the event.Â
According to Demings, Orange County investigators have opened 36 homicide cases since Jan 1, of which he says 21 have been solved.Â
"I will agree with the sheriff that we don't talk about the victims enough. We don't talk about the families enough, and whether you, whatever side you're on as far as punishment all suspects, all people who are convicted need the maximum sentence for their crimes," Mina said.Â