LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A group of Louisville mothers and fathers whose children were murdered are sharing their stories of grief as violence continues in the city.
Nicole Cowherd lost her son, Richard Harper, in January 2019, on his first day back to school after winter break.
"My son was rushed to University of Louisville Hospital," Cowherd said. "They had came and told us they did all they can do and my son was gone."
Harper had just turned 18 when he was shot while waiting at a school bus stop.
Cowherd now shares her loss with Juanita Williams, and other mothers in Louisville.
Walk A Mile In Our Shoes was held in downtown Louisville on Aug. 28, 2022.
"I sill haven't recovered," Williams said. "Every day is hard for me to get up out of that bed. I did not want to be here today. They can have all of this if I could have my son back."
Aaron Williams, at 26 years old, had just finished up an evening class at the University of Louisville in 2016. He was robbed and killed, his body found inside his car on Old Manslick Road.
Williams' murder remains unsolved.
Parents of murdered children stood on the steps of the Hall of Justice in downtown Louisville on Sunday, with photos of their children lining the stairs. Shoes rested beside them, representing a plea to all parents in Louisville to imagine "what it would be like to walk in their shoes."
"I don't want other mothers to walk in my shoes, I want them to see the paint that I got to go through," Cowherd said. "The pain that I go through every day. My shoes hurt my feet."
The parents call the level of violence in Louisville currently "unacceptable." They want harsher punishments for offenders.
"My son's killer, they gave him three years probation," Cowherd said. "Reckless homicide. He's out walking the streets while my son is laying at Green Meadows."
Parents ask for more resources to tackle unsolved cases and more involvement from fellow parents.
"Parents have got to get their kids, know what their kids are into and don't be afraid to turn that child in cause it could save a life," Williams said. "I'd rather go to the Hall of Justice to visit my son versus than going to the funeral home.
"I was not supposed to lose my son. He was supposed to bury me not the other way around."
Anyone with information involving shootings is asked to call the tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673). You can remain anonymous. Tips can also be made to the crime tip portal.
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- Louisville mothers turn grief into gifts on International Bereaved Mother's Day
- Parents placed shoes on steps of Hall of Justice to remember those lost to violence
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