CARBONDALE (WSIL)---Pravin Varughese was studying Criminal Justice at SIU, before he was found dead in 2014.
Eight years later, his family and friends still come to the spot he was found every year on the anniversary.
"It's bitter because every time I take this ride, I know Pravin is not with us. He's gone. I come to that realization over and over again. It's a sweet feeling because every time we come back here and we go to the spot where he was found, it brings me a little bit of peace," said Pravin's mother, Lovely Varughese.
They also give a scholarship to students studying Criminal Justice in Pravin's memory.
"We feel like he planted a seed and it is growing, and his legacy and his memory will live on," Lovely said.聽
Each year at the ceremony, Lovely Varughese thanks law enforcement, specifically Jackson County State's attorney Joe Cervantez and the Carbondale Police Department.
"The fact that he came to Carbondale to get an education and was the unfortunate tragic victim of an incident, and our police department has been committed since the day we learned about what happened, that we wanted to help the family and bring justice to them," said Carbondale Police Chief, Stan Reno.
Reno said through the tragedy, he believes the event helped bring the community and the police closer together.
"We want everyone to have a voice and we want them to speak up, when they perceive something is wrong. So it's really brought us closer, us as a police department with our community, it's certainly brought us closer with the Varughese family and helped us understand what families go through on the other side of a tragic situation like this," said Reno.聽
As more students continue to study what Pravin was so passionate about, Lovely hopes she can continue to honor her son's name.
"And I always wonder, you know, how much impact Pravin has had in many many lives, even though they never met him. So in a way, I feel honored to be his mom," said Lovely.聽
In 2018, Gaege Bethune was convicted of first degree murder for Varughese's death.
That conviction was overturned a year later.
It is now in the appellate court.
