Friends and family at vigil remember slain Vivian Martin

April 28, 2014 at 8:37p.m.

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Thirteen-year-old Damon Christian has had many fun times on the Fourth of July, and accenting his holiday enjoyment were the big annual family get-togethers at the home of his great-grandmother, Vivian D. Martin.

“She was very fun to be around,” said the Chaney campus seventh-grader.

Ri’Kya Wright, 15, remembered a great-grandmother, who was a “great motivator” and who loved to give her money for maintaining good grades.

These were among the fond memories family members, relatives and friends shared during a vigil Monday for Martin, a real estate agent who was slain Sept. 20, 2010, in the 3600 block of Nelson Avenue on the East Side.

Between 30 and 40 people attended the gathering where Martin’s body had been found in a burning home, to honor what would have been her 71st birthday.

Police say Martin, a cancer survivor who owned Essence Realty, was lured to the location just off state Route 616, where Grant Cooper, 25, and Robert Brooks, 29, robbed and killed her. The pair then set the residence on fire to cover up the crime, authorities allege.

The vigil also was to ask for greater movement regarding the case in which Cooper and Brooks have spent about three and a half years in jail after having been indicted Oct. 13, 2010, on charges of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Both men have yet to be tried and face the death penalty if convicted.

Several people wore T-shirts bearing Martin’s likeness, held hands and prayed next to a memorial cross on which were balloons wishing her a happy birthday. Next to the marker were flowers and a stone that read, “No farewell words were spoken, no time to say goodbye. You were gone before we knew it and only God knows why.”