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My wife and I have been blessed with three beautiful children. We brought all three up in
Massachusetts (~30 years). Our oldest daughter, Adrienne (33) is married, lives in
Rutland, Vermont, and has just blessed us with our fourth grandchild three months ago,
Preston Nathan, named after Nathan Bradley. Our second child, Lindsay (28) attended
James Madison University. Nathan followed her to Virginia and attended Radford
University. My wife and I moved to Virginia in 2005, the year Nathan graduated. When
we moved down here our family was finally reunited, except for Adrienne in Vermont.
Little did we know that it was going to be the last two years of Nathan’s precious life.
My wife and I have tried our best to teach our children right from wrong and to love
everyone. That love has always emanated from Nathan, Lindsay, and Adrienne in many
ways. We always took an active part in every part of their lives from attending student
activities to being at every ball game. I think our family bond stems from the fact that
during their upbringing my wife was at home and that we brought our children up in the
church. The family bond between our family members could not be stronger. That is why
the loss of Nathan is affecting us as it is.
Nathan’s passing has left a hole in my heart that can never be filled. He is my son, with
whom I am well pleased. I say “is” because to us he is still living and will always be here.
I am being forced into learning to love Nathan
differently. I don’t want to. However, I don’t have a
choice. It is a reality.
Nathan’s funeral consisted of people from MA who drove all night, friends from school,
Radford University/Sigma Pi fraternity, and co-workers from the Department of State.
There were over 200 cars following us to the cemetery. The Department of State provided
our family limousine service and an honor guard for calling hours and the funeral. We
were honored to have Ambassador Richard J. Griffin, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
Diplomatic Security, Department of State meet the immediate family at calling hours,
speak at the funeral, and present us with several plaques and the flag that flew over the
Department of State the day of Nathan’s death. Over half the people attending the funeral
could not get inside to see the service; standing room only. Yes, my wife and I were very
About two months after the funeral, I asked our pastor who baptized Nathan when the pain
would go away. His reply was “It will never go away. You just have to learn to live with
it.” Others have stated that the pain will “soften.” Well, that hasn’t started and it doesn’t
feel as if things will change for quite a while. I first have to realize that it DID happen. It
is going to be a challenge to learn to love Nathan differently. My wife and I prefer to call
his death “a crash”, not “an accident.” There was no accident about it. As for sentencing,
Nathan received the death sentence and his family and friends received a life sentence. I
have put together a list of some of the things I will truly miss and things I will never get to
enjoy with my son again and I titled it:
It is difficult to fathom how we are going to go forward without Nathan. It is a real tragedy
that the world will be without him for eternity. We WILL go forward, but with heavy
hearts. A piece of our family has been taken from us. Anything short of his return would
never compensate for the loss we have to feel EVERY day. He was the type of man any
woman would be proud to take home to mama. His mother and I will never be able to
enjoy that joyous day. He was becoming quite a man, loved by everyone. Nathan had no
enemies.
Yes, all of us who have had the pleasure of knowing Nathan are having a difficult time
dealing with the situation as can be seen by the sheer number of impact statements you
have received. There’s no way to describe the pain we’re going through or how deeply it is
felt every woken hour. We do not wish that pain upon anyone. I was hoping to enjoy many
more years with my beloved son, but that was not to be. It should not have happened.
May this impact statement aid you in understanding the breadth of our family’s loss. We
all live by the laws of this earth and we must all be accountable for our actions. The lack
of consideration for human life in this case is well illustrated by the facts. It is with the
above information in your hands, we feel, that you will deliver a just and fair sentence.
The defendant will never really know what he has done and will forget in time. Nathan’s
family and friends can’t forget. The tracks he left (Nathan’s favorite Dakota Proverb in the
footer) are too large and too deep for his family and friends to forget. Nathan was an
exceptional human being who will be in the hearts of all who knew him.
Respectfully yours,