They lost loved ones to violent crime. Now, these Sacramento families honor them through art

If Paula Gardner had her way, every neighborhood in Sacramento — and every city in the state — would have a mural honoring people killed in violent crimes.

On Sunday night, the flickering flames of dozens of candles illuminated the faces of Leilani Beauchamp, Rebecca Chaquies and Shanda Bigelow-Givens, among others. Each person enshrined on the wall behind a Florin Road gas station had their own individual story, but a common tragedy connected them — they all died too soon, and by no fault of their own.

Another face on the wall belongs to Michelle Benavidez, Gardner’s niece, who in May 2021 was violently raped and killed near a Meadowview light rail station.

“It’s beautiful, and this is how it should be,” said Gardner, who led the effort to create the murals and also organized Sunday’s vigil. “We started this for my niece, but we’re all doing this together now.”

Gardner never set out to create a startup media organization. But Benavidez’s death rocked her to the core.

After authorities found Benavidez’s body in May 2021, days turned into weeks without a break in the case. Gardner and her sister Rachel Benavidez — Michelle’s mother — rallied family, friends and volunteers to paper the neighborhood with flyers seeking any new tips, leads or information about Benavidez’s death. If anyone had heard or seen anything, the family wanted to know.

“We were on our own,” said Rachel Benavidez. “Paula has been my ride or die since day one,” she continued, a few tears welling in her eyes as she remembered the struggle of trying to bring attention to her daughter’s case. “If Paula wasn’t there, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

Gardner commissioned the first of three murals on Arden Way near Del Paso Boulevard in the hopes that renewed attention could lead to the arrest of her niece’s assailant. Los Angeles-based artist Shane Grammer painted a larger-than-life portrait of Michelle, along with the words, “One face among many in our communities.”

It took nearly nine months for officials to arrest and charge a 22-year-old suspect with raping and killing Benavidez.

Now, Gardner and her brother Diego Salazar are the pioneers of “Survivors Way,” a multiplatform initiative that uses art and storytelling to educate the public and honor victims of homicide and violent crimes.

The Sacramento siblings wanted to provide a support network for other grieving families and give them an outlet for mourning. They’re currently applying for status as a nonprofit organization and are raising money through a GoFundMe to fund new projects, such as a third mural and a documentary film. So far, Gardner says they’ve raised close to $20,000. (The online fundraiser shows they haven’t met their $15,000 goal yet.)

Through a support group run by the District Attorney’s Office, Gardner met families of other people who died violently at the hands of others. She asked mothers Melanie Bigelow and Tiffany Grissett, as well as others, if they’d want to honor their daughters in a mural, too. The latest two installations adorn a wall behind a gas station off Florin Road near 25th Street.

Grissett was the one who discovered Chaquies, her 19-year-old daughter, after she’d been killed in an incident of domestic violence. She described the moment as “one of the hardest things I’ll ever have to see.” Grissett says her daughter loved the limelight and was “the center of attention.” She would’ve loved the mural honoring her memory.

Jameson Givens, 13, said he was proud to see his mom, Bigelow-Givens, honored in the mural. She was smart, funny, loving, opinionated and selfless. She always put others first, and knowing that her story could help bring awareness to the issue of domestic violence would’ve made her proud, he said.

“She would want good things to come from this,” Givens said. “She’s not just going to be another number, another statistic.”

Even beyond the murals, Michelle Benavidez’s memory lives on. Every holiday, the Benavidez family dinner table has two extra place settings — one for Rachel’s late mother, Veronica, and the other for her beloved Michelle. Rachel Benavidez says her daughter doesn’t usually come to her in dreams, but one night recently, Michelle appeared.

Rachel asked her daughter, “Why did it have to be this way?” Michelle answered, “Because I couldn’t let him rape and kill anyone else.”

Now, Rachel says, her life’s mission is to do everything she can to make sure her daughter’s killer doesn’t hurt anyone ever again.

“I can’t let Michelle’s death be in vain,” she said. “He can take her life, but he can’t take away our voices.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2023 at 10:03 AM.