The mother and father whose daughter and granddaughter were shot to death in a church parking lot in June 2006 off Lantana Rd. will be keynote speakers for the 21st annual “Tennessee to Remember” observance in Nashville.
Former Fentress County Executive John Mullinix, and wife, Julie, will be among the speakers scheduled to address the observance set for 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 at First Baptist Church in downtown Nashville.
Gov. Bill Lee will provide a tape-recorded address and former Tennessee First Lady Andrea Conte, founder of the state’s Tennessee Season to Remember event, will also speak at the event.
At the ceremony, families from across Tennessee will hang ornaments on memorial wreaths in honor of their loved ones who fell victim to homicide. The wreaths will be displayed at the Tennessee State Capitol throughout the holiday season and the capitol building will be lit in purple to honor the event.
The event is designed to honor families and victims and survivors of homicide during the holiday season.
Nashville vocalist Tamika Tyan McDonald will provide the musical tribute. For those unable to attend in person, the ceremony will be live-streamed from the church at 109-8 7th Ave. S., Nashville, on their YouTube page: YouTube.com/firstbaptistchurchnashville.
The Mullinix’s daughter, Kimberly Wyatt, 27, an LPN working for the Tennessee Department of Corrections, and her daughter, 4-year-old Sarah, on June 3, 2006, were gunned down in the parking lot of a Lantana Rd. church, The shooting was witnessed by a second daughter, Sarah, age 6.
Three years later, Huston (Houston) Foley Lloyd, 51, Kingston Springs west of Nashville, admitted to the killings and received two sentences of life in prison without parole.
The Tennessee Board of Parole, Tennessee Department of Correction, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the office of Secretary of State Tre Hargett, the office of State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the office of State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr., Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security, Tennessee Department of Finance & Administration’s Office of Criminal Justice Programs, Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference and the Tennessee Rehabilitative Initiative in Correction are working together on this year’s event.
Also providing support are victim advocacy group You Have the Power, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Tennessee and the Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office.