Everyone Was Shocked Why A Biker Was Hugging The Boy Who Killed His Daughter

I pulled the letter from my vest pocket. It was worn now from being folded and unfolded hundreds of times. “This letter was from Marcus. Written from juvenile detention. And it explained something the police never told me. Something I didn’t know until I read his words.”

The judge leaned forward. “What did it say, Mr. Patterson?”

I unfolded the letter with shaking hands. “It said that Marcus wasn’t supposed to be driving that night. It said he was supposed to be at home. But he got a call from his best friend. His best friend who was at a party. Who was drunk. Who was planning to drive home.”

“Marcus went to that party to stop his friend from driving,” I continued, my voice breaking. “He called an Uber for his friend. Paid for it with money he was saving for a school trip. He made sure his friend got in that Uber safely.”

I looked at Marcus, who was staring at the floor, tears dripping off his chin onto his orange jumpsuit.

“But while Marcus was at that party, someone spiked his drink. He didn’t know it was spiked. Thought he was drinking regular soda. The toxicology report confirmed it—Marcus had rohypnol in his system. He was drugged.”

The courtroom went silent. Even the prosecutor looked shocked.

“Marcus got in his car thinking he was sober. Thinking he was fine. He didn’t know he’d been drugged until he woke up in the hospital after the accident.” My voice was shaking now. “He didn’t know he’d killed someone. Didn’t know he’d killed my daughter.”

“When they told him, he tried to kill himself. Took apart his hospital bed and tried to hang himself with the sheets. The guards stopped him. Put him on suicide watch. And every day since then, he’s been writing letters. To me. To my wife. Apologizing. Begging for forgiveness. Telling us he wishes he’d died instead of Linda.”

I wiped my eyes. Sixty-three years old and crying in front of a courtroom full of strangers.

“I wanted to hate him. God, I wanted to hate him so badly. I wanted him to be a monster so I could blame him. So I could have someone to direct all this rage and grief at.”

“But he’s not a monster. He’s a kid who did the right thing. Who saved his friend from driving drunk. Who got drugged and became a victim himself. Who killed my daughter by accident and has to live with that for the rest of his life.”

The judge was watching me carefContinue reading…