ALTON - Community members and nonprofit leaders gathered for the 13th annual Domestic Violence Memorial Service to honor local victims of abuse.
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On Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, Alton Memorial Hospital hosted the annual service, which included several guest speakers and music by Great Rivers Choral Society. This year, the memorial service remembered Jarred Hayes, Kiya Holt-Biggs, Portia Rowland and Charles “Chuck” Parrino.
“We don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” said Deputy Chief Marcos Pulido with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. “In Madison County, we definitely still stand at the forefront of our commitment to doing our best to try to protect everyone, but more importantly, we’re also going to remember our victims.”
Pastors Joyce Elliott and Bill Pyatt provided the opening prayer. Mary Cordes, Board President of Oasis Women’s Center, read the names of the victims, while Daniel Irvin struck a Tibetan prayer bowl.
Judge Maureen Schuette, with the 3rd Judicial Court, took a moment to acknowledge the recent passing of Oasis Women’s Center’s Executive Director, Margarette Trushel. Schuette thanked the partners who work in the courts and the community to prevent violence, hold abusers accountable, and promote healing for survivors.
In Madison County, there have been 1,672 orders of protection filed since January, including one day last month when 19 orders of protection were filed in just 24 hours. Schuette shared these statistics to underline the importance of preventing violence.
“I can assure you we are working very hard every day in our courts and in our communities to assist those affected by family violence,” Schuette said. “We know that the mission to end family violence continues, and we know the task is great.”
Chief Judge Christopher Threlkeld, with the 3rd Judicial Court, thanked the five judges in the family division at the Madison County Courthouse. He shared that the courthouse has two people whose jobs are to help community members file orders of protection, as well as Fitz, the emotional support dog who “eases the terror of testimony” for children and survivors. He thanked everyone for their work.
Cara Mellan, with the Regional Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, explained that her group works to review cases “to identify where our systems can improve and where our interventions can become stronger.” She recognized the community that came together for the service.
“It’s both a solemn and hopeful occasion, solemn because of the loss we recognize tonight and hopeful because of the strength and unity shown by everyone gathered,” Mellan said. “Every name that we remember tonight represents a story, a family, and a community left forever changed by their loss.”
Heidi Noel, a nurse at Alton Memorial Hospital, shared the story of her daughter, Liese. Liese was 22 and eight months pregnant when she and her unborn daughter, called Baby Bean, were murdered by her boyfriend in Alton.
Noel shared that Liese suffered many injuries at her boyfriend’s hand over the years, including a broken nose. Noel described “the most helpless feeling of [her] life” watching her daughter experience abuse. Liese and the baby were murdered in 2022. Noel emphasized that she remembers how Liese lived, “with compassion,” and she shares her story now to encourage others to get help.
“I’m here tonight not as a domestic violence counselor or expert, but as a mother who has lived through a nightmare,” Noel said. “I speak from personal experience with the hope that sharing Liese’s story will help someone else recognize the signs and escape before it’s too late.”
Pulido, the featured speaker, promised that Liese and Baby Bean will never be forgotten. Pastor Nick Gleason provided the benediction.
The Domestic Violence Memorial Service was sponsored by the Third Judicial Circuit Family Violence Prevention Council, Alton Memorial Hospital Domestic Violence Team, Oasis Women’s Center, Zonta Club of Alton-Wood River, Church Women United, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid, Riverbend Head Start & Family Services, Riverbend Family Ministries, Refuge, Metro East Every Survivor Counts, Madison County Child Advocacy Center, Sacred Spaces of CARE, and YWCA.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Click here to learn about resources in the Riverbend area. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
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