"He's free"

Paul Patrick passed last night at the age of 58 after 12 long years of grappling with the shotgun pellets left in him by serial killer Sam Dieteman, who fired the gun, and Dale Hausner who orchestrated all of the killings and maimings.

Paul was shot from out of the darkness, randomly, on the night of June 8, 2006. He did not know why. I think he spent the last 12 years trying to find the answer to that question.

In his search for meaning, Paul found his "beautiful duty," as he called it--to be the face of the victims.

And he succeeded. On the day of his passing, I asked juror Sherry Carter what Paul had meant to her during the very long trial. Her answer: "Justice. It made us [jurors] feel, 'Let's make this wrong right."

That is just what Paul wanted and what gave his life purpose through such pain and loss as is difficult to imagine. Over the years he appeared on many TV shows that are shown throughout the world, trying to show people that victims of violence are not anonymous and forgettable but definite, unique, and powerful.

Paul's catastrophe upended the lives of his family.  He could not have survived without their dedicated support which they so freely gave. They took him for an Oreo milkshake, his favorite, on Thursday evening. He had a blast.

Hours later, he lost consciousness and the vigil was on.

With him through the last days of his life were his daughter Chrystal, brother Ken,  sisters Ruth and Colleen, and his young nephew, Trevor. The family was joined by the singular hero Saul Guerrero, who gave them those 12 extra years by saving Paul on the night of June 8, 2006. Paul spent his final weekend surrounded by love.

Ken, weeping,  told me "He's free." But they are now for mourning for themselves because they will "miss him so much."

And if you ever met Paul in person or got to know him through the pages of A Sudden Shot or through watching him on TV, you will know how vivid of a person he was.

He was wittier, I guarantee, than anyone else you've ever met. And he had more grit.

I'm a bit weepy myself now so I'll close. If you have a bit of change in your pocket, the Patrick family has done nothing but sacrifice for 12 grueling years. You can ease their burden here. It's the official account.

 Official GoFundMe for serial killer victim Paul Patrick 

MEDIA: 

The family is having private time right now.

They've asked you to contact me instead.

 @CamilleKimball  My DMs are open

ASuddenShot@gmail.com