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These last two weeks have been emotionally difficult for our family as we’ve gone through the trial and then the penalty phase of the one who killed our daughter.

Many of you are no doubt aware by now that the jury unanimously came back with the verdict of guilty in the charge of aggravated murder of our daughter. The jury was then asked to decide whether he should be given the opportunity of parole after 30 years. The jury voted 11-1 that he should be given the sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Our family waited a long time for this to come to a close so we can put all of this behind us. We knew the trial would be difficult, to have to relive that pain over and over, but it was much more difficult than I thought.

The trial itself was a long and difficult process and its adversarial nature only added to the pain. The last day of legal proceedings, however, was almost surreal.

Our family had the opportunity to speak directly to the jury during the sentencing phase of the trial. Our daughter, Chelsea, spoke about how close she, Nicole and Victoria were to each other and how that was taken from them. Chris, Nicole’s husband, told them that we held her memorial service on their four-year anniversary. He talked about how difficult it was to explain this to the children, how Ethan likes to sit in the window seat in an airplane in the hopes of getting a glimpse of his mother in heaven. He talked about Ethan not having a mother to be there for Mother’s Day tea, but thankful for a loving grandmother, that’s Jordi, to be there for him. And I had an opportunity to speak to the jury as well.

But the surreal moment came after the jury came back with the sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The jury was dismissed and the judge was about to impose the sentence, but first, Jordi and I had an opportunity to speak directly to the man who killed our daughter.

I wanted him to understand how much hurt he has inflicted on so many people; on our family, on the woman he brutally raped in Eugene, on the correctional officers he attacked, and the pain he brought to his own mother, father, and brother and sister.

I then said, “Jamie, look at me… In behalf of my family, I offer you forgiveness. Take this as an opportunity to change your life. This has to stop. Your life is not over, there is yet an opportunity to redeem your life. Someday you will stand before the judge of all the earth and give an account of your life. If you want to do anything to help us, then change your own life. This has to end.”

Then, I was so proud of Jordi, because she also stood before him and offered her forgiveness and told him that she prays for him every day.

After that, the judge asked him to stand and said, “Do you have anything to say?” He responded, “I ask for forgiveness.” Those were the first words of remorse that he had ever spoken and I thank God for the opportunity to break through to him. It was truly an amazing moment.

Here’s what I’ve come to understand, God has purpose in our pain. Nowhere does scripture promise us that we will never encounter evil, or difficulty, or experience pain, but God does promise to be with us, even through the valley of the shadow of death. Even there, we fear no evil because God is with us.

The story of 1 Kings 17 takes place in the northern kingdom of Israel during their darkest and most evil days. They had rejected God and the result was predictable. Their hard hearts brought hard times. God had declared a drought through the prophet Elijah. During the drought, God instructed Elijah to go to Zarephath. There, he was told, a widow would provide for him.
She was kind to Elijah and allowed him to stay in an upper room on the roof, she provided meals from the bowl of flour and jar of oil that God miraculously replenished.

But tragedy strikes when the woman’s son became sick and died. This is where we gain insight for our own faith.


Pastor Rich Jones
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Rich Jones Calvary Chapel
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Calvary Chapel Hillsboro
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