JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Twenty-four hours before the execution of a convicted serial killer, the Jacksonville family of one of his young victims said his death would not give them closure.
Christi Powell was 17 years old and a University of Florida freshman when Danny Rolling murdered her and four other college students including Sonja Larson, 18; Christa Hoyt, 18; Manuel Taboada, 23; and Tracy Inez Paules, 23, during a killing spree in August 1990.
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Tuesday afternoon, Christi's older sister Barbara Powell Melcolm and two of Christi's nieces gave Channel 4 a statement on behalf of the Powell family.
"We are here for a very important reason, to tell the story of Christi's life. For 16 years the focus has been on her death and on her killer's life. Over the next 24 hours, the monster that took her life has been given every privilege that he took from us. He will be given the privilege to give a statement; Christi at age 17 spent her last minutes begging for him to show her mercy," Melcolm said. "Sixteen years is a long time to miss somebody, but we still love her and miss her today."
Christi went off to college in Gainesville with the ambition of become an architect.
Her family remembers her through pictures and videos: Christi at age 15 delivering a video birthday message for her father, pictures from softball games, and video of Christi with members of the large Powell family celebrating her graduation from Episcopal High School.
The youngest of seven Powell children, Christi had 11 nieces and nephews at the time of her graduation party early in the summer of 1990. Her mother, Pat, gave her a Gator necklace as a gift.
Christi was excited to be going to Florida.
Photos captured the teen's excitement at the graduation ceremony on the Episcopal campus as she and her best friend, Alison Emery, shared their special day.
More than 16 years after their commencement, and 16 years after Christi's death, Emery returned to the Episcopal campus to talk about her friend.
"We spent all our time, when we weren't in school, driving around town in a red convertible with the top down even if it was 45 degrees; the radio blasting, with our sunglasses on. We thought we were as cool as they come," Emery said.
She said her best friend loved life.
"I think you can see from her pictures that she loved life. She drew everyone's attention. She was just that kind of person that lights up a room; you couldn't not know she was there," Emery said. "She was so thrilled about the fact that she was going to the University of Florida. She was the first person in her family to leave town for college. She was a people person. So, whatever it is she would be doing today, it would involve talking to people."
Emery said the last 16 years were long ones, noting the time passed was almost equal to Christi's entire lifetime.
"We try to remember her life and all the happiness she brought us when she was alive. We try to think about what might have been, and those are really hard thoughts because we'll never know. She made the world a better place and if she were still here, the world would be that much better," Emery said.
On Wednesday, Emery will join the Powells and the families of the other students when they go to Starke for the execution of Rolling.
One of the victim's mothers said on Tuesday, "Our pain will never go away, but the execution closes a chapter in our never-ending sadness."