Friends and family gathered for a vigil Friday evening to remember the life of a Wallingford mother and her son.
They died at their home before a fire broke out last month. Police said the father was there, as well, despite being ordered to stay away.
As messages of condolence and remembrance are displayed, family members remembered Karizmah Johnson and her son 9-month-old Kylenn Varnado outside of their Wallingford home.
“Just was a beautiful soul. Her soul was just beautiful, and her personality showed it,” Nichelle Bass, Johnson’s aunt, said.
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She saw her as a daughter.
“She not my niece. She’s my child. That’s what she meant to me. It’s like losing a child,” Bass said.
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Wallingford police say both Johnson and Kylenn died before a fire broke out at their home last month. 24-year-old Justin Varnado also died in the fire. While he’s hasn’t been accused in their deaths, officers say Varnado was arrested on domestic violence charges a few weeks prior and had a protective order banning him from the home.
Family members wondering why that order did not keep him away.
“We can put somebody in jail and they can come out on parole and get an ankle bracelet. We have AI and everything else and GPS and everything else to track somebody down and there’s nothing we can do for women?” Sofia Perez, Johnson’s aunt, said.
The domestic violence advocacy group, Vivan Las Autonomas, organized the vigil. They say domestic violence victims, especially Black women, are vulnerable.
An organizer said she wants action taken to strengthen protective orders and for police to provide more answers.
“Whether her abuser is alive or not, it does not change the fact that the police still have a responsibility to investigate,” Vanesa Suarez, founder of Vivan Las Autonomas, said.
As Johnson’s family continues to wait for answers, the sense of loss still remains.
“The pain is going to be there for a long, long time. Long time,” Bass said.
Wallingford police say the cause of the fire remains under investigation, along with causes and manner of the three deaths.
