Nine years after his murder, Barway Collins returns to a community that won’t forget him

Dozens gathered Saturday morning at Becker Park in Crystal to unveil a statue of a little boy who once played there before he was killed by his father in a 2015 crime that shocked the Twin Cities.

Sunlight glanced off the bronze statue of 10-year-old Barway Collins, brightening his smile as he looked ready to join the kids whose laughter echoed at the playground. Adults near the statue wept and embraced.

“This is so precious to me,” said Louise Karluah, Barway’s mother. “This is almost keeping him alive because everybody is going to see him even though he’s not living, for his spirit is always with us.”

It’s been nearly a decade since Barway was found, bound and beaten to death, in the Mississippi River in Brooklyn Center. Karluah said she has cried every day since then, recalling Barway’s love for school and outdoor activities like skateboarding and soccer. She thanked Crystal residents for their support, adding that she hopes to build an elementary school in Africa to honor her son.

Barway was last seen alive in March 2015 as he left his bus at an apartment complex near Becker Park. Scores of residents organized a vigil and search parties to look for him. Boy Scouts found his body in the river, and Pierre Collins received a 40-year prison sentence after admitting to beating and killing his son.

Jeff Kolb, then a Crystal City Council member, began collecting donations for a memorial to Barway. Kolb said he felt “helpless, angry and lost” about Barway’s death, and came up with the idea of a statue while opening a playground at Becker Park.

“I remember looking across the street at that same parking lot [where residents held a vigil] and feeling that same sense of helplessness and anger, realizing that Barway would never get to see the beautiful park that was built in his backyard,” Kolb said. “So that’s where this memorial came from: How could we as a community build something that would take the tragedy and turn it into a source of hope and joy?”

More than $20,000 for the statue was quickly raised. “The outpouring of support from the community was so amazing and humbling,” Kolb said at Saturday’s ceremony. “It was clear that Barway’s story meant something to so many of you, and that we all have the shared goal of keeping his memory alive.”

Gary Hines, music director for the Grammy award-winning group Sounds of Blackness, played “Tears in Heaven” as the family sang. Barway’s sister Lulu, 2, babbled through the harmonies, saying “Hi” to her brother’s statue before hugging and kissing it.

For Hines, celebrating Collins’ life represents Sounds of Blackness’ mission to connect communities through music.

“I would hope that the unity in the community that we see right here, at this beautiful memorial event and service, would be sustained — would proliferate from community to the cities, state and nation,” he said.

Barway’s death has haunted Keith Demmings for years. The 61-year-old bus driver often thinks about what could have been done to prevent his death, and about what his son could learn from Barway’s life. Demmings said he hopes more adults will watch out for and care about youth in the community.

Barway “could have been a basketball player. He could have been a senator or something. He could have been the president of the United States, but we were robbed of that,” Demmings said. “I feel that our youth are being cheated. We can’t just brush it off, we need to be more involved ... [in] raising our kids.”