On Saturday loved ones tried to inch closer to healing after a man and woman were shot dead last week at an east Tulsa park.
Ethan Nichols and Carissa Horton were jogging together Sunday night but they never returned home. Saturday morning their lives were celebrated. Hugs, tears, and kind words filled the Destiny Church in Broken Arrow, where the couple attended.
"Ethan was always compassionate toward life and had become more compassionate the last four months since Carissa had become a part of it," says pastor Mike Goolsbay.
They were in love with each other and both had faith in the Lord. Destiny Church pastor, Goolsbay, helped Nichols and Horton's family and friends cope with their devastating loss.
"Since my brother's death I have learned so much about him, things I never knew, I watched the comments pile in on his Facebook page and listen to the stories from people who care about him," says Nichols's brother Sean Clark.
Clark held back tears. "Everybody he met, was inspired by him," says Clark.
Horton was a talented guitarist and singer, she even wrote a song for her boyfriend for his 21st birthday titled "Happy."
"There is something about Carissa that left a God size thumb print on their heart, I want those who knew her to have fond memories of her and those who didn't, to know what talented, beautiful and kind of person she was," says Goolsbay.
Dean of students at Oral Roberts University, where Horton had been attending this past month, in her freshman year, Daniel Guadjardo, describes her and Nichols's death as the worst tragedy the school has faced.
"Just the reaction, the love from her wing mates, her roommate, her brother wing, it was just amazing how in a short period of time how a young lady could touch so many lives," says Guadjardo.
Even though Guadjardo and others still can't believe what happened, they found some peace from Saturday's memorial service.
"We look for a deeper purpose awe look for a higher answer," says Guadjardo.
Carissa Horton will be buried in her hometown in southeast Iowa. Funeral arrangments haven't been announced for Ethan Nichols.
The bonds for both murder suspects, Darren Price and Jerard Davis have gone up. They are now set at more than $2 million each. Both of them will have their first court appearance Tuesday; which would have been Horton's 19th birthday.
Source:
