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Celebrating the life of a boy killed 25 years ago
TweetBy ED RUNYAN
WARREN
Before 12-year-old Raymond Fife’s abduction and murder on Sept. 10, 1985 made him a symbol of senseless violence, he was just a mischievous boy who loved animals, baseball and the Michael Jackson song “Beat It.”
He was 11 during the summer of 1984 when he rode solo in a commercial airliner that took him to Newark, N.J., to spend time with a former Warren pal.
He called his mom, Miriam Fife, after arriving in Newark, and said, “‘Mom, we almost hit the Umpire State Building!’”
He’s the same boy who, when he was about 3 years old, got a bike ride from his sister Yvonne, sitting in the basket she used to deliver fliers. The bolts came loose on the basket, causing him to tumble onto a busy West Market Street.
While his sister anxiously gathered him back up, Raymond said, “Wheee, Vonn! Do it again!”
He’s also the boy who put plastic bugs in his mother’s bed and delighted in seeing her reaction.
Those are the kinds of memories Miriam Fife wants to share with those who attend Friday night’s commemoration of the day 25 years ago when he died from injuries two teen boys inflicted on him in woods off of Palmyra Road Southwest, near his home.
The perpetrators, Danny Lee Hill and Timothy Combs, are on Death Row and serving a life prison term, respectively.
“I wanted to share a little bit of him as a little boy, and what he meant to us, and if I can get through it without tears ...” Miriam Fife said.
She has invited many of the people who played a role in the criminal trials and conviction of Raymond’s killers to speak at the 5 p.m. celebration at First United Methodist Church, 309 N. Park Ave. It is open to the public.
Dennis Watkins, Trumbull County prosecutor, and W. Wyatt McKay and Peter Kontos, current common pleas court judges who were part of the prosecution team, were asked to speak, along with a Boy Scout leader, pastor, school and city official and Raymond’s sister, Paula Lazzari.
Miriam Fife, who has become a recognizable figure in the 25 years since Raymond’s death, helping to get the prosecutor’s office’s Victim-Witness Division up and running, says she believes this is a good time for people to learn more about her son and the positive things that have come about because of his death.
“In that sanctuary, everybody will be touching on the positive,” she said.
Though Miriam Fife became a volunteer for the Victim-Witness Division shortly after her son’s death, her son’s death did not directly lead to the establishment of the office, she said Wednesday.
An application had been made for funding to start the office before Raymond’s death, she said.
“His death had a lot to do with the growth of it, though,” she said, adding that she made it her mission to educate people on the victims of crime.
Jeff Goodman, a longtime defense attorney in Trumbull County, said Miriam Fife’s work as a victim-witness advocate has been one of the biggest difference makers that came out of the tragedy of her son’s death.
“She’s taken possibly the most unimaginable tragedy and turned it into a positive for change for a quarter of a century,” Goodman said.
Comments
"The perpetrators, Danny Lee Hill and Timothy Combs, are on Death Row and serving a life prison term, respectively."
The subculture is protected ! These fellows will both die of old age in prison or be released back into society by a soft on crime judge . Danny Lee Hill has no fear of being executed .
Thoughts and prayers are with the Fife family.
Yes, tragically sad and true, no justice on Earth, because the subculture is protected. But we know positively, someday Almighty God's perfect justice will prevail for Danny Lee Hill and Timothy Combs.
The sad truth is if Danny Lee Hill was executed prior, this anniversary would never have been newsworthy. Absolutely sad.
We need a Dexter Morgan to kidnap, torture, and kill these sick bastards.
Anytime I see Miriam Fife on the news or anything about the scum Danny Lee Hill, I think back to the news of thimes about this horrific event. For a parent, it has to be a fate worse than death. There is no way you can ever recover from losing a child because a piece of you goes with them. I don't believe in the death penalty because I believe all human life is sacred. But, I wonder if Danny is human? When he is finally executed, I won't shed any tears for him. The way he tries to use the mentally incompetant defense is despicable. It is an insult to those who have true mental illness.
With that said, it is wonderful how Miriam Fife has turned an absolute negative and crushing event and made something positive about it. She is an angel among us! Statues should be erected for people like her, not two-bit politicians who only think of themselves. God bless Miriam!
The child was assulted on land own by my great uncle and he hated that fact. Shortly afterwards he moved from his shack into Ytown with his sister. He also had had run in with Hill/ Combs, stealing his vegetables and breaking and entering his shack, where they thought he had millions stored. He was just an old time farmer, who sold off part of his land for a housing development, who ripped him off. I still remember how horrible we, the family , felt about this happening not only to a child, but to a innocent child. I can't believe that the scum is still on the earth.
These 2 scumbags should have been executed long ago instead, they continue to live at taxpayers expense.
Not very well reported.
Raymond Fife did not just "die from injuries" as article blandly states. He was beaten to a pulp,raped with a broken broom handle, and set on fire. The torture he went through is unspeakable!
And the killers were not "two teen boys" as reported in a nice vanilla way. Hill was an 18 year old adult male, and Combs was a 17 year old beast.
25 years and these two piles of GARBAGE are still living. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!!!!!!!
Danny Lee Hill is NOT a human being and neither was his cohort. They are both degenerate animals who should have been hung upside down in the public square the day after. I don't want to hear anything about their poor upbringing either. They had free healthcare etc etc. No excuse. Can't wait till they are put to death. Sad thing is I probably won't live that long. Another 25 years on death row anyone?