Today my family and I attended court for the sentencing of the man who took my brothers life a little over a year ago. It was one of the hardest days of our lives. As much as we hoped it would give us some sort of closure, it changed nothing. He is still gone. We are forever changed. We presented to the court a victim impact statement written by Cherry Bettencourt, Hilarie Teves and I, that I wanted to share. We Love you Chucky Charles Joseph Bettencourt is our son, our brother. He is an uncle, a best friend, and a boyfriend. Over the past year coming to know and hear from so many of the people whose lives he touched, we have often heard him described as a handsome, kind hearted 21 year old with a contagious smile. Someone who you would want on your side, loyal and just a beautiful soul. He had a huge heart, and would be quick to hand out his last dollar to a stranger if he felt they were more in need. Chucky, as he was called by his family, was just your average boy growing up. He was known by his family for being clumsy. We could go on forever recounting the endless trips to the ER. Like the time he decided to stick a marker cap into his nose and then crayon all in the same week requiring two separate trips to the ER. Or the time he ran straight into a wooden picnic table while playing outside with his siblings resulting in yet another trip to the ER this time needing stiches. Chucky grew up in a house full of girls, three older sisters to be exact. He would often be teased for being the only boy but make no mistake about it we were his biggest protectors. As much as we teased we were also the ones right there by his side holding his hands through the stitches, bumps, and bruises. See in our family Chucky was the youngest and no matter how old he got always the baby in our eyes. On May 11, 2013 we were forced to make the gut wrenching decision to remove Chucky from life support. A part of our hearts died that day. To us his life had yet to fully begin at only 21 years old. We as a family spend our time chasing and trying to hold onto the only reminders we have left. Close friends who possess the same traits and mannerisms as Chucky did. His girlfriend Hilarie expressing their ambitions and dreams of a future together. That particular song on the radio, his favorite dish, or a glance of someone so close in appearance, all things we hold so close to our hearts. Even if only for a moment we are able through them to catch a glimpse of his infectious smile or the sound of his one of a kind giggle. Every future event in life will forever be empty and missing him. Every holiday, wedding, birth, graduation will be a reminder of what could have been and should of been but now will never be. We will spend the rest of our lives forever searching for moments full of him.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:30:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015