I want to tell you some things that happened right before and during the trial. I will probably tell you a story at a time. 

 

First of all, there were articles published, especially in the Pennsylvania papers, before the trial. Good articles. Articles about Brian and Aaron; about the families and what we have been doing these last 10 years, how we saw the upcoming trials, etc. One article mentioned the Steubenville neighborhood that Brian and Aaron were taken from, the off-campus neighborhood where a lot of students rented houses. As I read the article I saw that the neighborhood has a nickname - one I didn't realize it had even though we bought the house that Brian and Aaron were in. It is called the Hilltop.

 

Why am I writing about that? Because in 2005, when we started The Run The Race Club, we decided to work in the neighborhood in Columbus surrounding Holy Family Church, since that is the church Brian loved. We didn't know then, but of course we have learned since, that the neighborhoods surrounding Holy Family had nicknames, too. They are called the Bottoms and the Hilltop...

 

Photo: Dave Gossett, Herald Star    

Love and prayers,

Rachel