WEATHERSFIELD Slain girl's memorial vandalized, parents say

The memorial was erected by community members after the girl's death.
WEATHERSFIELD -- The parents of a 10-year-old girl murdered in 1999 say they're being victimized again.
John M. and Teresa L. Wetzl of Warren Avenue said the memorial erected to their daughter, Bridget, on Olive Street Extension has been vandalized.
Bridget, who was a third-grader at Roosevelt Elementary School, was raped and strangled in May 1999 and her body was found in woods off McDonald Avenue in McDonald. George Foster, who knew the Wetzl family, was convicted of the crimes and is serving a life sentence.
Damage to memorial: The memorial erected by community residents shortly after the murder consisted of a cross and a sign that said "God Bless Bridget."
The memorial first was torn down last month after the couple appeared on "The Sally Jesse Raphael Show" speaking about National Parents of Murdered Children. Teresa Wetzl and her son spotted the damage and repaired the memorial. It was damaged again this week.
Police said no report has been filed regarding the vandalism. Teresa Wetzl said the family didn't file a police report because they don't believe they own the memorial.
"We didn't put it down there," she said. "It's a community thing," she said.
The Wetzls did give a harassing letter they said they received to police last week. The officer investigating the case is on vacation this week.
Mrs. Wetzl said the letter is the latest of several the family has received since Bridget's murder. All of the letters have been turned over to police, she said.
What letters say: "They say we railroaded George [Foster] and we need to get ourselves right with God," Teresa Wetzl said.
She said the letters and destruction won't discourage the family from publicly supporting organizations like National Parents of Murdered Children or from supporting other crime victims.
"I just wish they would leave us alone," she said. "They make us feel like we've done something wrong and we've done nothing wrong."