In Memoriam: Katie Worsky

Twenty-three years ago, on July 12, 1982, my cousin Katie disappeared from her friend's house. Vanished, as if into thin air.

She was 12. Katie was slight, tomboyish, with blonde hair and buck teeth. She was diabetic and took insulin shots. She liked to fish and run around, and she was mischievous. She had a great smile, and a Southern accent that would make you know in an instant that she was from Virginia. She is missed. Her body was never found.

Glenn Barker was charged with Katie's murder, and convicted of second-degree murder in 1983. He served 9 years in jail before being released on parole.

I was 11 when I watched the trial of my cousin's killer. I remember how sweet and soft-spoken the prosecutor was. I remember that I was wearing shorts, and the wooden benches stuck to the back of my legs. I remember I hated Glenn Barker. I remember thinking that Katie would walk through the door any minute, that she was just playing a trick on us. But most of all, I remember that I wanted to be like that prosecutor, that I wanted to be a lawyer.

It's so close now. I've finished law school, my diploma safely stored in the back of my closet. After such a long time, there's only one hurdle left, the bar exam. And then, finally, I will be a lawyer.