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1 year after 2 murders, agony, hurt still endure
Vivian Martin Anniversary
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YOUNGSTOWN
It’s been one year since two of the most high-profile murders in recent history, and there’s still no sense of justice for the victims’ family and friends.
A year ago, Davida Brown booked a jazz cruise with her mother, who had beaten cancer for the second time.
Her mother had a last round of chemotherapy two weeks before, and the trip was supposed to be a celebration of her mother’s life.
On Sept. 20, 2010, Brown’s mother, Vivian Martin, 67, showed a house at 3660 Nelson Ave. for her company, Essence Realty. While there, police say, Martin was strangled by two men during a robbery. Her body was found badly burned after the men set fire to the house.
Five days later, Thomas Repchic, 74, drove to St. Dominic Church on Lucius Avenue to pick up his wife, Jacqueline, who answered the church office phone. As the two traveled north on Southern Boulevard in their Cadillac, shots were fired. Thomas was killed and his wife was severely wounded.
The murder of Martin and Repchic left Mahoning Valley leaders, safety officials and residents struggling to make sense of the violence.
And despite quick police work that led to multiple arrests in both cases, those left behind say there is no real sense of closure — only more unanswered questions and attempts to grasp the rationale for the killings.
“The ones who did this, you’re only thinking about what you want. ... You just don’t realize how much you affect everyone around,” said Latoyia Brown, one of Martin’s five grandchildren.
Martin left behind four brothers, a sister and two daughters, Davida Brown, who lives on the city’s East Side, and Donna James of Campbell.
“We’re trying to put our lives back together, but we’re still grieving,” said Davida, Latoyia’s mother.
“I believe we’ve gotten closer as a family, as far as seeing each other more,” she said. “My grandkids are a special part of my life ... that takes up my empty spaces. And the community has been great.”
Bill Boston, owner of Boston Machine Shop on the South Side and longtime friend to Repchic, described Repchic’s murder as a pebble hitting water, leaving a wake.
“They destroyed and changed a whole family,” he said. “...Tom was a great guy. All the great things that were said in the paper are true, and even more than that. There isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t talk about Tom.”
Boston recalled how much Repchic loved to see the American flag and hounded city leaders to clean up the neighborhood. He and his family would help cut grass and keep vacant lots tidy.
Boston and Repchic purchased additional property on their block to keep up their neighborhood. Now a garage on one of Boston’s plots contains Repchic’s Cadillac.
“Has [the neighborhood] changed? No, it hasn’t really,” he said. “The city has tried to make the changes. The churches used to go door-to-door, but now they’re too scared.”
What’s needed now, Boston said, is an attitude change.
“This community has got to go back to Christ’s teaching: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” he said.
CLOSURE
A year later, none of the four men accused in the two murders has gone to trial.
Kevin D. Agee Jr., 26, of Youngstown, and Aubrey Toney, 30, of Youngstown, are accused of shooting and killing Repchic. Police say the Repchics were shot in a case of mistaken identity in a feud between two rival factions. Agee and Toney aren’t expected to go on trial until next March and April.
Robert S. Brooks, 26, of Youngstown, and Grant P. Cooper, 22, of Brookfield, are accused of killing Martin. Cooper’s trial is slated to begin in January. Brooks does not have a tentative trial date.
Davida said the lingering court case only adds more pain to her and her family.
“I will never have closure because I was not able to kiss my mom goodbye, but I do want this to end,” she said. “Let me know that there will be justice.”
Davida reiterated to The Vindicator what she told the newspaper nine months ago: The trial of those accused of her mother’s murder should remain in Mahoning County.
And she said her worst fear is that the two accused men will walk free because of a “technicality” and referred to the recent dismissal of charges in another Mahoning County murder case because of a prosecution error.
“God’s job is to forgive; that’s not my job,” she said. “I will not accept 20 years. Death penalty or life without parole, nothing less than that.”
Another cause for grief is the burned-out house that still stands on Nelson Avenue. Davida’s youngest daughter, Kysha Martin, who recently obtained her real-estate license in honor of her grandmother, placed flowers on the site Tuesday.
But Davida couldn’t.
“I went by there and prayed and kept going. I wish they’d tear it down,” she said.
Jean Schaefer, who helps track demolitions in the city, said the Nelson Avenue home already has been tested to comply with EPA regulations and is on the street department’s demolition list, along with other charred structures.
Davida said that will give her some comfort.
“I’ll be glad when they tear it down. I don’t ever want to go back up there. Sometimes I catch myself going over there, then I get to looking around and think ‘This is a perfect place for a murder,’” she said.
She’s grateful for the police, who arrested suspects quickly and returned her mother’s gold necklaces and a ring to her. The burn marks seared on the jewelry will vanish when they are melted down and used in wedding bands for Davida’s daughter, Kysha.
“If my mother had to die to keep [Brooks and Cooper] off the street, I would like to think about it like that,” Davida said.