Tragic anniversary: Valley remembers young murder victim 25 years later

By Joyce Coronel | May 21, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

MESA — Longtime Valley residents will never forget the horrific news accounts of the 1984 rape and murder of 13-year-old Christy Fornoff. Family and friends gathered May 7 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her death.

The focal point of the Mass and reception, held at St. Timothy Parish, was the Fornoff family’s message of forgiveness. It’s a theme they’ve devoted their lives to sharing with others.

Carol Fornoff, Christy’s mother, spoke to The Catholic Sun about how she was able to forgive Donald Beaty, the man convicted of killing her daughter. Beaty, a custodian at the apartment complex where the girl was slain, has filed a number of appeals but remains on death row.

“I think right away we forgave,” Carol said. “That came from our faith in God, knowing that we need to forgive if we want to be forgiven.”

At times, she said, they’d taken it back when things got tough. “But then you work through it again,” Carol said. Through it all, the Fornoffs say it was their Catholic faith that sustained them.

Out of the ashes of their tragedy, the family has built a legacy of healing through grief and bereavement support groups and retreats for those coping with loss.

The Christy Center for Loss and Renewal, adjacent to St. Timothy Parish in Mesa, and the Christy House in the northern Arizona town of Pine, are the fruit of the Fornoffs’ Catholic faith and commitment to forgiveness. Thousands of people over the years, struggling with the rawness of their grief, have passed through their doors in search of consolation.

The eight-bedroom Christy House has hosted more than 2,000 guests since its founding and is open to spiritual growth retreats. Parents of the murdered children have frequent weekends at the home.

The Fornoffs, who prepare and serve the food for the guests, always tell the story of losing their daughter. A large picture of the blonde-haired girl hangs in the residence.

“We talk about forgiveness,” Carol said. “We tell the story and say how we’ve forgiven.” The parents of children killed often tell them they’ll never be able to follow their example.

“We say when you hurt enough inside, you will forgive in time,” Carol tells them.

Fr. Jack Spaulding told those gathered for the May 7 Mass in Christy’s honor that the Fornoffs’ decision to forgive and move on was a litmus test for people everywhere.

“Anything we’ve gone through falls very short of what Carol and Roger and their family have gone through. If they can forgive, who are we not to?” Fr. Spaulding asked the crowd.

Surrounded by their six surviving children and 25 grandchildren, the Fornoffs stood quietly at the front of the congregation.

“One of the graces that come from tragedy, if we allow it, is that this side of heaven, we will never understand it,” Fr. Spaulding said. “Either we become angry about it or we come to Him and we say, ‘Father, I don’t understand, but I trust in You.’”