A candlelight vigil was held Monday night at Piedmont Park to honor a woman who was shot and killed by her father at their Cherokee County home last month.
Friends of the 19-year-old, who identified Kathryn Newhouse as a transgender woman, and a small group of supporters of the LGBTQ community gathered at the Midtown park for more than an hour, Channel 2 Action News reported.
“She was like a little sister to me. She was a real sweetheart,” Journey Jennings told the news station.
On March 19, authorities responded to a call around 5:45 p.m. about a person shot in the Bridgemill subdivision. Howard Newhouse, 57, fatally shot his daughter and then killed himself, officials said.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker told Channel 2 that Howard Newhouse’s wife was at home during the shooting. Police have not released any other details on the incident.
“I would’ve never imagined something like this happening to her,” Jennings said.
Credit: Christopher Newhouse
Credit: Christopher Newhouse
In a public Facebook post, Christopher Newhouse said he is working toward coming to peace with the situation that took his father’s and sister’s lives.
“Although I am incredibly sad that my dad will not get to see me graduate, will never hold his grandkids, or will not be able to attend his son’s wedding, I know that he will be watching from above in a much better seat and I am at peace knowing he loved me and provided me with so many opportunities that I was able to fully take advantage of,” he wrote.
Newhouse said he had no bad memories of the two and explained that the environment his sister “grew up in prevented her from truly developing the bright and shining personality” he encountered when they were younger.
The Newhouse family told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday that they were not made aware of the vigil and would not be attending.
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