<hugs> to you and your fellow coworkers. That must have been incredibly difficult to deal with. As you said, it seemed so random.
Thanks. It was rough at the time. I remember seeing the reports of something happening in that area on FB the night it happened.
Then when I went back to work that Sunday I was unaware until midday what had happened to David. Everyone seemed to know about it but no one knew that I didn't know. It was an awful sick feeling when I found out.
I have lived here my whole life and nothing so brutal and inexplicable had ever happened in my memory.
[Actually that's not true, Manuel Cortez killed two girls just a year younger than myself in 1979.
That's a whole different story.]
A co-worker made the metal cross and stenciled it with David's name. Later that week we gathered at the spot on the path behind Hunter Park at around the same time he'd been found, 5:30 pm, and the most striking thing to me was HOW DARK IT WAS.
There were no lights on the bike path in that area near the cemetery and behind the tennis courts at Hunter Park next to the train tracks, it was pitch black out.
As people approached to join the gathering they appeared as dark shadows, you couldn't recognize them until they were very close, like right upon you almost face to face.
It's possible it wasn't quite that dark yet when David was attacked but if it was he wouldn't have been able to identify someone until they were very close to him.
I was much older than David so we weren't peers, and I haven't worked there in more than 10 years now but I can genuinely say he was a good guy and a great co-worker.
Everyone loved him, he was great with customers, quick, thorough and he didn't seem to have a bad bone in his body. He was a pretty cheerful guy with a wicked sense of humor.
It's sad it's been so long without answers.
There is one co-worker I was always somewhat suspicious of. SC. A guy that had moved down from Canada with his wife and kids, his FIL was a department manager there.
SC was older than David's usual group of friends but always seemed to try to fit in, talking about gaming and stuff. I always felt like it was an awkward fit.
Anyway, one time I overheard David and this person talking in the next aisle about what if certain video games were real life live action, and they specifically talked about violent surprise attack interactions.
At the time I didn't think much of it and even after his death it wasn't in the forefront of my thoughts but after his COD came out that conversation has always haunted me.
I talked about it with another old co-worker in the last few years.
JD-C, she remembered his name because they have the same last name.
My friend was interviewed three times (I was interviewed twice as most of my co-workers were) as they were one of the last to see David as they left work and headed out into the parking lot around the same time.
Anyways, more backstory from a local if that's helpful.
