or two years, Virginia White has made sure to tell her daughters and niece that she loves them every day.
She began the ritual when her niece, Pellville freshman Melissa “Katie” Autry, was killed in Poland Hall in May 2003.
“We don’t take each other for granted,” White said.
Since Lucas B. Goodrum, 23, of Scottsville was found not guilty last week of murdering Autry, White and her family have been trying to cope with a decision that White said left her family “heartbroken all over again.”
“I’m not at peace,” White said.
Autry was set on fire in her Poland Hall dorm room on May 4, 2003. She died three days later at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
White said she was disappointed with the jury’s verdict. She said she felt like Stephen L. Soules’ testimony should have had more weight in the jury’s decision.
Soules pleaded guilty to Autry’s murder on March 23, 2004. He testified that Goodrum raped and sodomized Autry, then forced him to duplicate those actions.
The defense argued that Soules changed his statement several times.
But the jury’s decision did not bring closure to Autry’s death, White said.
“Knowing where she’s at and knowing where Lucas Goodrum is is what makes it really hard,” she said.
Other relatives of Autry did not want to comment on the verdict.
White said she wants people to remember her niece as an energetic, fun-loving person who was friendly and full of life.
“We miss her,” White said. “We miss her a lot.”
Reach Ashlee Clark at news@wkuherald.com.
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