When Lieutenant Benjamin Miller of the Hightstown Police Department contacted Younity during Communities of Light this year, his message was simple but deeply meaningful. Nearly two decades earlier, while working as a detective, he helped investigate the domestic violence homicide of 27-year-old Amy O. Giordano, a young mother whose life was taken in 2007. The case has stayed with him ever since.
Lt. Miller picked up a luminary kit from Younity and later sent a message that moved our entire team:
“I lit the single candle in memory of Amy O. Giordano, who died 18 years ago as a victim of domestic violence. This is outside the apartment where she lived. Thank you for allowing me to celebrate her memory and presence here in Hightstown. May this candle be in her memory and celebrate all victims of domestic violence.”
He shared a photo of the candle glowing quietly outside the place where Amy once lived. The image captured both grief and profound respect.
What Officers Carry Long After The Case Closes
When she read his message, Varonda Kendrick, Younity’s Response Teams Coordinator, shared how deeply the gesture moved her. She told Lt. Miller it was “a thoughtful act of remembrance” and expressed hope that the moment brought him a measure of healing after carrying the weight of the case for so many years.
Varonda works closely with law enforcement and sees firsthand how domestic and sexual violence cases can stay with officers long after they are closed. Officers often must compartmentalize their emotions to keep serving the community, yet some stories never fully leave them. Cases involving families, children, or preventable loss tend to stay with officers for years. Many remember the names, locations, or details long after they retire.
“People forget that officers are human,” she said. “Their community is their family. And some lives stay with them forever.”
Lighting the candle outside Amy’s former home was not a procedural act. It was a quiet moment of honoring a life and perhaps a step toward healing for a detective who never forgot her.
Lt. Miller also shared that he continues to think about Amy’s child, who is now a young adult. His ongoing concern reflects the compassion that guided him then and continues to guide him today.
Why We Light the Candles
Communities of Light is about honoring victim-survivors and standing together as a community. It is also about acknowledging the people who walk beside those families: the advocates, counselors, neighbors, medical staff, and the police officers who carry these stories long after the public has moved on.
Lt. Miller’s gesture reminds us why we gather each year. We come together to remember, to honor, and to reaffirm our commitment to ending domestic and sexual violence.
One candle, lit outside an apartment on a quiet October night, ensured that Amy O. Giordano’s memory will continue to shine.
Moments like this remind us that domestic and sexual violence not only affects victims and families. It touches advocates, police officers, medical teams, and everyone who steps in to help. When one person suffers, the whole community feels it. When one life is remembered, the whole community heals.
