Ceremony honors National Crime Victims Rights at Missouri Capitol

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) - It is National Crime Victims Rights Week in Missouri. Many gathered to honor them at the Capitol Building in Jefferson City.

Andre Cook was one of the speakers. He lost his daughter in 2019.

”I was awakened in the early morning hours by the police officers who indicated that my daughter was deceased. I asked what happened, and they told me that she had been murdered,” said Cook.

So he shares her story.

”Ever since that, I’ve been fighting for her and her rights and the rights of her children, who I have custody of her children,” said Cook.

Missouri’s Director of Public Safety says honoring and remembering those victims is important.

”It’s also a point in time where we recognize that their voices need to be heard, as they have never planned to be victims of crime. We’ve got to provide the resources from the state perspective, as well as a local perspective, to help victims and survivors through their experiences and to help them in a more positive direction,” said Sandy Karsten.

Cook will never forget that feeling.

”Disbelief and I expected to hear about a car accident or something like that, but never a murder.”

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