As the sun set on Oak Ridge Prairie Park Saturday evening, the field came alive with the flickering light of dozens of balloons glowing in the darkening twilight sky.
They each carried a handwritten message:
“We love you.”
“We will always think of you.”
“I miss you.”
Friends, family members and the community gathered to celebrate the fact that they knew Deborah Leslie.
“Deborah was such a social, outgoing person — she didn’t live under a rock, as you can see,” David Leslie, her father, said as individuals made their way to the gathering. “Everyone who knew her; she touched their lives, and she touched so many people’s lives. I am hoping this brings Deborah back in mind for people.”
Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of 30-year-old Deborah Leslie’s body being found in the 5300 block of W. 8th Ave. in Gary on Sept. 23, 2022, three days after she was reported missing. The abandoned building she was found inside had burned down, causing the discovery. Her cause of death was a fentanyl and cocaine overdose, according to a coroner’s report.
David Leslie and others said that her faith in God was something she held onto throughout her life.
More Top Picks Best Ceramic Frying Pans For Kitchens
“I hope He opens up the heavens today and let’s Deborah watch this, and see all of the people who came out to remember her,” David Leslie, of Griffith, said.
As the group let go of the balloons after sunset, they called out, “We love you Deborah,” in unison.
Her twin, Chrissy Sokol, of Griffith said the park has been a place they loved coming to since childhood, filled with memories of playing in the park, fishing in the pond and sledding.
“She was a lover of nature,” Sokol said. “And she liked to connect with people, especially outcasts. If she saw you sitting by yourself, she would come talk to you. And she loved God a lot. Everyone who knew her knew that, and she spread it to as many people as possible.”
Her family said the Griffith woman struggled with addiction and continually pursued recovery, graduating from substance abuse programs but later relapsing. Her family said she had committed herself to rehab multiple times in her steps toward recovery from alcohol and later opioid abuse.
In 2022, there were a reported 107,081 drug overdose deaths nationwide. Data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that 68% of the deaths were mainly caused by fentanyl.
Two of Deborah Leslie’s friends, Gabbi Garcia and Crystal Russo, organized the event and collaborated with family members to make it happen. The balloons and string were all biodegradable and environmentally safe.
“We just wanted to give everyone a chance to remember her and celebrate knowing her,” Russo said.
She said their group of friends still keep her memory close and celebrated her birthday by going out for dinner together, one of their favorite friendship traditions. Garcia said another tradition was their Halloween parties, in which one year Deborah Leslie dressed up as a Taco Bell sauce packet to celebrate their shared love of Taco Bell. They described her as fun-loving and goofy, but also as a caring shoulder to lean on.
“One of the things we talked about since Deb’s passing a lot is our disappointment with how people suffering from addiction are treated,” Garcia said. “We feel like their cases aren’t taken as seriously because of this stigma that surrounds it. We hope that people can change that perspective. We need to treat everyone with dignity and respect.”
Two people have been charged in Deborah Leslie’s death: Emmit L. Yarbrough, Jr., 56, and Heather Richardson, 34, both of Gary. They were charged with Level 6 felony altering the scene of death and three misdemeanors, which included two counts of failure to notify authorities of discovery of a dead body, and one count of failure to report human remains.
Camera footage from last year showed Yarbrough and Richardson appearing to take her body out from a Hammond hotel in a wheelchair, according to court records. She was found not long after in the abandoned building in Gary.
The cases are both ongoing and the two individuals remain in jail.
David Leslie said he hopes for justice.
“She had a strong relationship with God and that’s what gives me peace,” David Leslie said. “I know where she is, with no doubt in my mind. … My daughter’s challenges with alcohol and then getting involved in opiates in the last year of her life — Somehow she met up with these people and we still don’t know what happened behind closed doors.”
Her older sister, Carole Feist, of Hobart, said just driving down the winding park road brought back memories of their times together since childhood.
“To me, the biggest thing from her death — there’s a lot I am taking forward with me: How I see things, how I live life, my actions,” Feist said. “People have talked to me, not knowing she is my sister, telling me how much they have been impacted by her and her story. There is healing and growth and power through her life. And it shows how important connection is. Connection is the healing factor in addiction.”
According to Next Level Recovery Indiana, one in 12 Indiana residents meet the criteria for substance abuse disorder. Individuals can dial 211 to connect with local treatment and recovery resources.
Anna Ortiz is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Staff writers Meredith Colias-Pete and Carrie Napoleon contributed.