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This is the story of my neice, Kim. She was attacked by her husband on April 22, 1999. She died April 25, 1999 of massive head injuries.
What should have been a simple divorce became a never ending nightmare for Kim. All she wanted was to end a loveless marriage and try to bring some happiness into her and her childrens lives. Kim finally had gotten the nerve to ask her husband to leave. He did go but it was after she begged him for several days to get help with his temper and his drug problem. From the minute her husband left the threats began. He broke into her home on many different occasions which led Kim to seek an order of protection .
That Thursday morning Kim had gotten her own children off to school and the four babies that were in her home-day care had arrived. Since all the threats had began, Kim's friends and family called her often to check on her. When she failed to answer her phone those threats became a reality. While her mother was trying to get her on the phone, her step father, Larry took off for her home to check on her.
When Larry arrived he found the glass in the back door broken out. He walked in the house and only remembers seeing Kim laying on the floor before he was hit from behind in the head with the same hammer that Kim was beaten with.
Kim's husband did what he had told her many times that he would do if she didn't take him back. Kim never opened her eyes again. After two brain surgeries and many prayers, she could not be saved. What a waste of a kind, sweet person.
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My beautiful niece left behind 4 children that loved and needed her dearly. My sister, who not only had to bury her daughter , but now must continue her life without the full support of her husband who she loves deeply.This animal took someone we love and will never get back. He deserves no justice of his own. I hope now that the law does not fail us again and he gets the toughest punishment allowed. I have made many memorial pages in Kim's name to keep her alive in our hearts and to somehow let women know that domestic violence is real. . It is my own choice to call Kim by her maiden name of Reilmann. Her divorce would have been final on the day after she left us to go to heaven. Some of Kim's pages are listed under the name of Cunningham. It is my own feelings that will not allow me to refer to her with the name of the vicious animal that has caused all of this pain.
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It has been over a year now since we lost Kim. The pain of missing her and still trying to make some sense of this is still as strong as the day it happened. Her children are doing as well as they can going on with life without their mother.The two oldest went to live with their biological father. The two youngest, that are Tim's children, went to live with their aunt and uncle on Tim's side. We do talk to them often and stay close to them. Not a day passes that they are not in our hearts and thoughts. Kim would have hated the thought of her children being apart. It was a hard and sad decision that had to be made by the family members and the children themselfs. The final blame has to rest on Tim's mind. When he murdered their mother, he also killed the best future their kids would have had. He showed his lack of love for them on that day by not caring about where his act would lead them. We can be thankful that they were blessed with a loving heart and soul that their mother gave them. That is what is given them the strength to carry on.
Larry is doing his best everyday to carry on with his life. He struggles to walk and talk but he is a true hero in this story. I know Kim is looking down at him and smiling. She knows he tried his best to save her.
I miss my neice more that I can say. Kim was my best friend and we shared our lifes with each other. I miss the trips to the mall and stopping at her favorite place to eat. I miss the phone calls and all the thoughtful things she did for me.
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Timothy Cunningham was found guilty by jury on April 25, 2001, exactly two years to the day of Kim's death. On June 21, 2001 he was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 25 years for the attempted murder on Larry.
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Kim, Rest In Peace
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Kim, We Miss You
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My Letter To "Kim"
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