Sydney sunrise memorial for US shooting victim Justine Ruszczyk
Friends and family of Justine Ruszczyk gathered at Freshwater Beach this morning to mark the two-year anniversary of her death. It comes just months after a US jury found cop Mohamed Noor guilty of murder and manslaughter over Justine’s shooting.
Manly
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- Killer cop breaks silence on Justine Ruszczyk Damond’s death
- Dad reveals day he heard his daughter had been shot
Friends and family of Justine Ruszczyk gathered at Freshwater Beach this morning to mark the two-year anniversary of her death.
They gathered round a fire pit as they reminisced about the 40-year-old who was tragically shot and killed by US police officer Mohamed Noor in 2017.
Her father, John, who arrived clutching half a dozen pink flowers, said it was a day to remember “my wonderful daughter”.
“To see these people down here today just goes to show what she meant to people,” he said.
“I miss her every day.”
After speaking to friends and family gathered Mr Ruszczyk and his partner, Maryan Heffernan, walked down to the water’s edge hand-in-hand.
With the waves lapping at their feet, they looked out to the horizon in silent reflection.
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Then, with the sun rising over the headland, they tossed a flower each into the surf.
Back up the beach children gathered some twigs and toasted marshmallows on the fire.
“I am so proud of my daughter,” Mr Ruszczyk said.
“So many people come up to me and tell me how meaningful she was in their lives.
“She loved life so much and I just miss her.”
Justine grew up in Freshwater and loved life on the peninsula.
“I remember her running along the beach just here and us going for walks on Manly Beach together,” Mr Ruszczyk said.
“After university when she lived at home for a while we would go out jogging together. She just loved it here.”
She loved animals and was accredited as a veterinarian. But when she moved to the United States, with her American fiancee Don Damond, she worked as a life coach.
“When she came into the room it was always happy. People were always happier around her,” Mr Ruszczyk said.
The memorial comes a couple of months after a US jury found Mohamed Noor guilty of murder and manslaughter over Justine’s shooting death.
Noor was convicted of third degree murder and second degree manslaughter but was cleared of the more serious charge of second degree murder, which includes “intent to kill”.
Noor, 33, shot Ms Damond after she called police to help a woman she believed she could hear screaming behind her south Minneapolis home on July 15, 2017.
The former police officer was sentenced on June 7 to 12-and-a-half years jail.
Mr Ruszczyk was in the courtroom for the entire trial, something he described as the most intense period of his life.
“I can’t tell you how difficult it was being in that courtroom and listening to the testimony, seeing and hearing videos from the body worn camera. But we felt we had to be there to stand up for Justine and let people know we wouldn’t forget her.”
He added: “We go on, we have to. But I miss her so much every day.”
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