DULUTH – The Nephews’ home was uncharacteristically dark on Wednesday evening, without even the omnipresent light from off the back deck, where the late Kat Ramsland had kept her beloved plants.
But the yard was aglow with the candles and tea lights of the hundreds of people who gathered for a walk to remember the members of two families recently killed.
It’s been a week since Ramsland, 45, and her son, Oliver Nephew, 7, were found dead in their home across the street from Denfeld High School. Earlier that same day, the bodies of Erin Abramson, 47, and her son, Jacob Nephew, 15, were discovered in their home on Tacony Street.
All had been shot to death.
The body of their apparent killer, 46-year-old Tony Nephew — Ramsland’s husband and Abramson’s former husband — lay near his dead wife and son. He apparently had turned the gun on himself.
Wednesday’s quiet walking vigil was organized by neighbors and covered the nearly milelong route between the victims’ homes in West Duluth. At both stops, the names of the victims were said, bells chimed and sky lanterns were lit in their memory.
“No one knows what to do,” said one of the organizers, Ramsland’s neighbor Lindsey Jungman.
They’ve found comfort in tending to Oliver Nephew’s gift library in the side yard, a spot he made for passersby to take a gift or leave one. The neighbors have been making sure the recent surge of donations, stuffed animals and toys have stayed dry. By the end of the memorial walk, tiny lights lined the space.