A family seeks answers
Published 10:28 pm Thursday, December 13, 2007
LYNNWOOD — Barbara Porter spent her 63rd birthday outside in the rain, holding a candle in hopes of shedding light on what happened to her son.
On Thursday, she joined more than 40 people who held a candlelight vigil to remember Christopher Porter, a father of four who was found shot to death in his home two years ago today. He was 43.
Family and friends huddled together in the driveway of Porter’s home. They gathered around a table set with two framed photographs of Christopher Porter taken during his sister’s wedding. Next to the photos stood a cross adorned with his grandmother’s rosary beads and a small box holding his ashes.
His family is hoping for someone to come forward with information about who killed Porter and why.
“We all have so many unanswered questions,” Barbara Porter said. “We all wonder why, why him? Why didn’t he run, why didn’t he get out of the house? When someone is breaking in, why didn’t he break off in another direction?”
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives continue to investigate the case. They ask anyone with information to call the sheriff’s tip line, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said. The number is 425-388-3845.
Christopher Porter — nicknamed “Hopper” by his grandfather — grew up in Snohomish County and attended Mariner High School. He bowled every Friday night with a league in Lynnwood, keeping his score sheet after every game to track his progress. He enjoyed watching NASCAR auto racing and was a Seahawks fan.
The family has not recovered from the shock of his death, Barbara Porter said.
“It’s not knowing why someone would do this to him,” Barbara Porter said. “He was such a good man, he wouldn’t hurt anybody. I don’t understand why they had to go that far with him.”
During Thursday’s vigil, Christopher Porter’s oldest daughter, Holly Martinez, 24, read from a letter that she wrote to her father. She talked about how the greatest moment of her life was seeing how happy her father was when he held her newborn son, Jaidan, who is now 4.
Porter never got to hold Martinez’s second child, a daughter, Tiffany, who was born after he died.
“Just thinking about you not being able to be here makes me miss you all the more,” Martinez said.
Ken Marcum, 46, had been friends with Porter since they were about 15 years old. He has fond memories of fixing cars with his friend, as well as taking a few trips together to Mexico.
“He had my back anytime,” Marcum said. “I wish I could have had his (back) the night this happened.”
Family and friends of Porter are collecting money to increase the reward being offered for information leading to Porter’s killer. They want to keep talking about him, so no one forgets what happened. They want others to talk about him, too.
If the word gets out, maybe someone who knows something will speak up, Barbara Porter said.
“We just want closure, we want to put him at rest,” she said. “I’m sure he’s not resting with us the way they are, with us still wishing he was here.”
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
Crime Stoppers
Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound is offering up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the death of Christopher “Hopper” Porter.
Porter was shot to death Dec. 14, 2005, inside his home on 146th Street SW in Lynnwood. If you have information about the homicide, call 800-CRIME-13 (800-274-6313).
