Family is everything to Bridgette Johnson. You can see her excitement as she combs through photo albums and explains the generations with pride. Unfortunately, the last two generations have had similar experiences.
“Actually sitting there, preparing the obituary, finding pictures, I never thought I’d be going through that,” Johnson told 41 Action News. “So then I got to thinking, I know how my mother felt when she got to plan my brother’s funeral because he was murdered.”
The void the Johnsons and other families feel has also translated into a lot of money. A few years ago KC Nova paid for a study to see how much every crime costs taxpayers.
In 2013, the city’s 100 murders cost Kansas City residents $8.9 million. Aggravated assaults cost nearly $33,000. These costs include everything from first responders, to theft and property damage, even psychological stress.
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Even with this study, there is nothing that can quantify the loss of human life for Bridgette Johnson and other grieving mothers. “Don’t wait until it happens to your child, step up now.”
Bridgette Johnson’s son Anthony was 23-years-old when he was killed. Her brother’s life was also cut short. Both Johnson and her mother were forced to bury their sons.
“Like one family member said, that’s the longest trip she’s ever had to make. Cause when she got down here and started looking at those caskets, then it hit her," said Johnson.
Johnson is not the only person she knows suffering similar misfortune.
“A lot of my friends I went to school with or grew up with, or talk to have lost their sons too. I have at least six friends that have lost their sons from 2015 to now," said Johnson.
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Kevin Holmes can be reached at Kevin.Holmes@KSHB.com
