CLEVELAND – Brianna Yuravak gripped the streamers tightly as the red and blue balloons waved in the air.
She said today is sad to think about, but she hopes to move forward.
“It’s been a year, and we’re all still hurting like crazy,” Brianna said.
Exactly a year ago Saturday, Brianna learned her father was killed.
Her dad, Brian Yuravak, 50, was found shot in the head at his part-time job, Imperial Auto Sales on St. Clair Avenue. His body was found on the morning of August 3, 2012.
“Horrible not knowing,” she said. ”Picking up the phone and them not being there. Not answering the phone. Calling the detectives and them having no leads? It’s horrible. It’s heartbreaking.”
So Brianna, friends and family gathered to honor her dad at the same spot where someone took his life. They released colorful balloons with messages for Brian and two other women killed that morning: Lori Sarli, 48, and Babette Hockenberry, 53. The Cleveland-area women were also shot in the head.
”Like having an itch you can’t scratch,” said Derek Szalay, son of Hockenberry. “It’s excruciating not knowing what happened. It would be easy on everybody and give everybody peace of mind if they just knew what happened and whoever did it paid for their crimes.”
The auto body shop had been a fixture in the community for more than 40 years, but the City of Cleveland bought the land and tore it down this summer. The families are happy to see it go, but hope that someone will come forward with information to solve the case.
“A lot of my friends are here and they never knew my mother and I never knew Brianna and I’m here to support her,” Szalay said. “She lost her father. I know how she feels. Everybody who came out, just to support us, it’s a beautiful thing.”
“Every single day, our hearts break because we don’t know who did this and it shouldn’t have happened,” Brianna added.
Cleveland police tell Fox 8 that there are no leads in the case. Anyone with information on the case should contact Cleveland’s Homicide Unit. Now, Crimestoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.