Cane Ridge community members planned a memorial walk for Monday night in honor of Alyssa Lokits, the 34-year-old who was murdered while running along the Mill Creek Greenway last week in Antioch.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A couple that lives in the Cane Ridge neighborhood planned a community memorial walk for Monday night in honor of Alyssa Lokits, the 34-year-old who was murdered while running along the Mill Creek Greenway last week in Antioch.
Jessica and Kyle Ketner were on the greenway about a quarter of a mile from where Lokits was found. They and other park-goers that day helped investigators piece together evidence to capture the suspect.
“It was definitely a night that we won’t soon forget,” Kyle said.
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), Lokits was exercising along the Mill Creek Greenway near Old Hickory Blvd. around 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 when she was fatally shot.
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Witnesses told detectives they heard Lokits screaming for help before they heard gunshots. They also reported seeing a man on top of her before shots were fired.
On Oct. 15, MNPD arrested Paul Park, 29, and charged him with criminal homicide. Officials reported that this attack was completely random and the two didn’t know each other.
“You just feel horrible that it happened to her,” Jessica said. “I struggled all week long with this. My heart hurts for her and her family. We all see ourselves there as her.”
Lokits was a Nashville native and one of nine siblings, according to an obituary on the Woodfin Funeral Chapel’s website.
“Alyssa was a graduate of the University of Kansas with an undergraduate degree in Speech Pathology and a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a doctoral degree in Neuroscience,” the obituary said. “She was someone with limitless capability and potential.”
The Ketners told News 2 they were horrified and heartbroken that this happened, especially at a place they are normally at several times a week with their three kids.
“It’s been a part of this community and considered a safe space by all, especially our women that live in and around the area, to be able to go and feel comfortable,” Kyle said. “That has really been shattered and put into question.”
“That’s always been my home base for anything, so the thought of that happening there, I can’t even put words to it,” Jessica added.
As frequent runners of the trail, the Ketners felt they needed to do something to support one another during this devastating time.
“It doesn’t get any closer to your own home than this,” Jessica said. “We can’t just sit back and act like nothing has happened.”
The two decided to organize a memorial walk and run for Lokits.
“We want to be able to come together and just love on each other as a community and as a family of Nashville and honor her.”
Jessica vowed to complete the 2-mile route that Lokits was unable to finish from Pettus Road to Old Hickory Boulevard and back.
“I don’t want fear to rule how I live and exercise, or any other woman out there for that matter, so I’m thinking we just go back out there and we do it together,” Jessica said.
The Alyssa Lokits Memorial Run/Walk is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 21. It will be at Mill Creek Greenway at Orchard Bend Park (5605 Pettus Rd.).
“We want anybody to be able to come out there, so whether you’re coming out to walk, run, cry or pray, we want a safe environment for everybody,” Jessica said. “Bring your strollers and your kids. It’s a family Greenway. We want it to be that way.”
Following the walk and run, the Ketners told News 2 they will have a memorial set up with pictures of Lokits. They’re asking attendees to bring a flower with them to express their prayers and condolences.
Lokits’ family has requested that contributions in her memory be directed to The Mary Parrish Center, where she was a former board member. Monetary donations can be made on the organization’s website.