Communites mourn tragedies

Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Dateline: Oxford, Indiana

Separate memorial services honor slain Jeff teacher, Oxford boy Nicolas Zavala

By Shawn McGrath

smcgrath@journalandcourier.com

For many students of Oxford Elementary School, Nicolas Zavala will always be their guardian angel, forever watching over them from heaven.

"Out of the many million people in the world, how come God takes the good ones?" asked sixth-grader Lindsay Morris. "If the authorities did a full investigation before you came to Oxford, you would still be on earth."

Nicolas' remains were discovered April 18 in a farm field near Stockland, Ill. The remains were positively identified Monday as Nicolas' through DNA tests.

He was reported missing Aug. 13 by his grandmother, Margaret Williams, who said she dropped Nicolas off in front of the Oxford Public Library to meet friends for a camping trip on Aug. 4.

Around 150 students, family members, friends and complete strangers attended Thursday's hourlong memorial service for 11-year-old Nicolas at the Oxford Church of Christ.

Nicolas' classmates, most breaking into tears or heavy sobs as they spoke, read from letters they wrote to him.

"We remember the times you made us laugh, and now we're crying for you," said sixth-grader Gwen Marquie.

A banner with a large photograph of Nicolas and messages from his classmates hung behind the podium. More photos were arranged on the altar along with two angel statues on each end.

"I will always remember little Nico as my beautiful little angel," said Nicolas' mother, Cindy Molina, from a prepared statement that she was too distraught to read during the service. "He was a cute little boy who made people laugh.

"He was funny, full of life, had a lot of energy, loved to ride his bike, go to church, and had a lot of friends. My son's life was taken from him at a young age. He will never be able to graduate from eighth grade or college. And he will never be able to get the chance to go to the prom or have his first love. He'll never get married and have children."

Molina said she was returning to her Stafford, Va., home today, even though investigators have not released Nicolas' remains.

Sgt. Shana Kennedy, Indiana State Police spokeswoman, said the cause and manner of Nicolas' death likely won't be known for at least two weeks, if at all, depending on the condition of the remains.

The remains are currently being examined by forensic anthropologist Dr. Stephen Nawrocki, a professor with the University of Indianapolis. A forensic entomologist has also been included in the investigation, to assist in determining a time of death.

Molina blames herself for Nicolas' death, saying he would not have died if she had not allowed him to stay with Williams and Nicolas' uncle, Miguel Campos.

"If I knew this was going to happen, I never would have agreed to let him go with her," Molina said. "But I never saw anything to think I didn't want him here, because she was his grandmother."

Molina said she last spoke to Williams on Sept. 19. Neither Williams nor Campos attended the memorial service, and Molina believes they know what happened to her son.

"Personally, I did not want them here," she said. "I know they had something to do with it, because they haven't taken a polygraph, they won't cooperate."

Williams is scheduled to stand trial June 26 on a single felony count of neglect of a dependent. She could not be reached for comment Thursday, but her attorney, Brian Dekker, has said that he has asked his client not to talk about the case.

Dekker has said that Williams had been holding out hope that the remains would turn out not to be those of Nicolas.

To Nicolas' young friends, he was like a family member. Many said he has finally been set free and is now in a better place.

"We know that Nic's memory will stay with us," said the Rev. Larry McMillan, pastor of the Oxford Church of Christ, the church Nicolas attended. "And he will live on in our memories. Nic was with us only for a few short months, but he will live in our hearts forever."

Key dates in the Nicolas Zavala case

February 2002: Margaret Williams takes temporary custody of her grandson, Nicolas Zavala, 11, who has spent much of his life moving in and out of foster homes in Illinois.

Aug. 4: Williams drops Nicolas off outside the closed Oxford Public Library to meet friends for a camping trip. Williams later tells police she did not wait to see him off and doesn't know the names of those he was supposed to meet.

Aug. 12: Start of school at Oxford Elementary, where Nicolas is enrolled. He is not in attendance.

Aug. 13: Williams informs Benton County Sheriff's Department that Nicolas is missing.

Aug. 26: Day of a scheduled custody hearing in Will County, Ill., to determine if Williams should be named legal guardian of Nicolas. Due to Nicolas' absence, the hearing is postponed.

Sept. 21: Nicolas' mother, Cindy Molina, arrives in Oxford, saying she does not know where her son is. She passes a lie detector test about her son's whereabouts and demands to know why police have not enlisted the media's help to find him.

Sept. 30: Benton County Sheriff's Department informs media about the case. Police say they waited so long to go public because they suspected Nicolas was with his mother.

Oct. 10: Benton County Sheriff Ernie Winchester asks Indiana State Police to take over the case.

Oct. 23: Investigators search Williams' home at 303 W. Vine St. for clues related to Nicolas' disappearance. Police discover what appears to be blood spatter, and a sample is taken for testing. Williams is charged with felony neglect, for allegedly not knowing Nicolas' whereabouts.

Nov. 11: Molina provides investigators with a blood sample to compare with blood found in the Oxford home that Williams and Nicolas' uncle, Miguel Campos, shared at the time the boy was reported missing.

Dec. 27: Stafford County, Va., authorities search Molina's home, looking for signs the boy may have been there Christmas Day. They find none.

March 18, 2003: Investigators confirm that the blood found on carpet in Williams' Oxford home came from Nicolas.

April 5-6: Almost 100 volunteers scour farmland, wooded areas and waterways in Benton County in attempts to find Nicolas.

April 18: Farmer in Iroquois County, Ill., immediately west of Benton County, discovers skeletal remains and a skull near Stockland, Ill. Indiana State Police are contacted and have the human remains sent to a lab in Indianapolis for DNA and dental analyses.

April 25: Iroquois County Undersheriff Derek Hagen confirms that Nicolas' dental records match the human remains found near Stockland, and the family is notified.

April 28: Indiana State Police confirm through DNA tests that the remains are Nicolas'.

May 1: Nicolas' memorial service in Oxford. ISP investigators believe it will be at least two weeks before Nicolas' cause and manner of death are known.

- Staff Reports

Have a tip?

Police are still investigating the death of Nicolas Zavala. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Indiana State Police at (765) 463-1515.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

PAYING RESPECTS: A young man looks at a remembrance of Nicolas Zavala Thursday during a memorial service for Nicolas at the Oxford Church of Christ.

CINDY MOLINA (right) breaks down after a memorial service for her son, Nicolas Zavala, Thursday at Oxford Church of Christ. Photo by Michael Heinz/Journal and Courier.