Shattered by killings, family's faith endures

By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 6, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky

David Works, father of shooting victims Stephanie and Rachel Works, says he doesn't hold anything against the parents of the killer, Matthew Murray.

Rachel, above, and Stephanie Works, below, were shot and killed by a gunman stalking the New Life Church.

There is grief that breaks open at any moment.

There are embraces for the killer's parents.

And a new book, Gone in a Heartbeat, with a subtitle that sums up everything: "Our daughters died, our faith endures."

These are just some of the pieces of a shattering year for David Works and his family.

The family was piling into their car after services at New Life Church, heading for a burger lunch, when Matthew Murray opened fire in the parking lot.

Daughters Rachel and Stephanie were killed. Works, now 52, was wounded. His wife, Marie, and daughters Laurie, now 19 and Grace, 12, were spared the gunfire but not the pain.

"The heart of the family got ripped out," Works said.

Two months later, the Works family chronicled their journey of grief and healing in a radio broadcast; afterward, Focus on the Family asked them to write a book. It's being published in January. Although their faith has held fast, it's been undeniably a brutal year, says Works, a finance specialist with the deep, rich voice of a radio DJ.

Quick to laugh, he admits he can also cry at any time.

"I immediately declared the house a free-cry zone - meaning you can cry anytime you want, blow back anytime you want, say anything you want," Works said. "We all react differently. We had to create room for everyone to act the way they're going to act."

The family goes to counseling every week. And they reached out to the killer's parents, Ron and Loretta Murray, in a meeting arranged by their pastor, Brady Boyd of New Life Church.

When the Murrays walked in, Works recalled, "We grabbed them and said, 'We're not going to shake hands.' We hugged in a group hug for about 20 minutes. We told them we didn't hold anything against them."

And so, the family's rebuilding goes on. Among the many projects, Laurie, who was Stephanie's twin, volunteers at an outreach that rose out of the Columbine High School shootings. Grace is interested in fashion drawing. Marie? "Pretty incredible," her husband said.

Call it Works in progress.

"We can't make the same music as before," he said. "We have to make a new tune with the family. But you just can't put it together right away, when you've been emotionally whacked with grief."

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