YORKTOWN - Family, friends and members of the Yorktown community gathered Sunday for Garth Fest, an outdoor memorial concert in Morrow's Meadow.
The concert was to remember the unsolved killing of Garth Rector, a Ball State employee who was found dead in his home two years ago.
Garth Fest attendees were eager to show their support for the event and enjoyed the cool shade the pavilion provided during the hot day. Couples danced to a variety of music performed by local musicians of different styles, including classic rock, funk, Motown and country.
Rector's family and friends could be seen wearing Garth Fest T-shirts and selling bottles of water to concert-goers. Many of them were emotional about the event, including Kelii Kahalekomo, a family friend of the Rector family. Kahalekomo was a student at Muncie Central High School when Rector coached wrestling.
Rector's sister, Angie Mock, described Rector as being a father figure for Kahalekomo. Rector was a best man for Kahalekomo's wedding.
Garth Fest is the product of Mock, who has been dedicated to raising awareness about her brother's case and other violent crimes in the Delaware County area.
Attendees were confident that their support would help catch the killer and stressed the importance of finding any kind of information.
"There was a case that was 15 years old just a couple of years ago that was solved," Deputy prosecutor Judi Calhoun said.
Mark Carter, known as the Hot-Dog Man, offered his Nearly World Famous hot dogs at the event in support of the family. He went to high school with Rector's wife and wanted to show support in hopes of solving the case.
Local politicians, including Jeff Arnold, who is running for prosecutor; Sue Errington, an Indiana state senator; and Pat Smith, who is running for state representative, came to support the family and pass out pamphlets.
This year's Garth Fest raised $1,200 to fund the memorial Garth Walk that will take place Oct. 2 outside of Muncie Central.
Last year's Garth Walk included 20 families who had experienced the loss of a loved one due to violent crime. At the end of the walk, the families and friends of victims were given note cards to write messages to their loved ones that were then attached to helium balloons.
Sally Thresher, a family friend of the Rectors, saw the balloon event and said she was incredibly moved by it.
"Seeing all those balloons floating away, it brought tears to your eyes," Thresher said.
The Rector case will come under further investigation later this year by the Vidocq Society, a nonprofit crime solving organization based in Philadelphia. The members of the society are made up of retired forensic investigators, criminal profilers and other specialists who volunteer their time to look at unsolved cold-case homicides. The circumstances of the case may allow Kurt Walthour, the lead investigator in the Rector case, to present the case to the society.
"They have to exhaust all possibilities because the case isn't quite cold yet, but they have agreed to look at it," Mock said.
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