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Vigil at dusk for Alfred Willis Torres Sr. offers support and words full of light
- Mark Sabbatini
- 15 hours ago
- 5 min read
More than 100 people, most of them extended family members, share candles, memories and blessings on cruise dock near garage where he was assaulted a month ago
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Alfred Willis Torres Sr. remained alive for a month after being assaulted in a downtown Juneau parking garage, but for many family members there still wasn’t time to properly say goodbye before he died earlier this week at a Seattle hospital.
"I didn't get to go down to say goodbye to him, but I wanted to do this candle lighting to show that we loved him and that he'll never be forgotten," Karen Jim, one of his sisters, said during a candelight vigil Thursday night on the cruise ship dock next to the Marine Parking Garage where the assault occurred.
More than 100 people gathered for the vigil at dusk. Jim said most of them were extended family members.
"I asked my brother Sonny, he's the oldest of us, and he quit counting at 70," she said.
Torres, 53, was allegedly attacked in the garage at about 11 p.m. April 6 by his nephew Devon Rivera, 29, and niece Chelsea Willis, 37, resulting in facial fractures and other severe injuries, according to court records. Both are facing multiple assault-related charges, but prosecutors said Wednesday additional charges are possible due to Torres’ death.
Willis told police she and Rivera "were acting in self-defense in relation to an alleged incident that occurred years prior," according to court records. Both are in state custody.
While Torres’ injuries were severe, and he was first flown to Anchorage for surgery before being transferred to a Seattle hospital for further treatment, his death was an unexpected shock to many of his family members.
"We weren't expecting Alfred to leave, for him to die," Tammy Meachem, a younger sister of Torres, said tearfully during the vigil. "We had no idea it was this bad. I get a lot of messages, a lot of comforting words. It's really hard, because it's not like he was sick and he died. He just got his life taken from him."
Most people gathering for Thursday’s vigil spoke little about the assault. Instead they shared their memories of Torres, and friends offered condolences and blessings to his family members.
Jim said she and her brother did roofing and other carpentry work for many years in Juneau until about a decade ago, and he also did various jobs at times in Angoon.
"My brother loves fishing, but he didn't care to eat fish," she said. "He was allergic to it. He was a great fisherman, and he always brought fish home to mom and to friends just to go fishing."
Similar sentiments about his generosity were shared by Monique Imboden, his sister-in-law.
"I think I was 12 or 13 when I met Alfred and he was a good guy," she said. "I would say hands down that he will protect anybody that he's with. He protects people and what happened to him is wrong."
In addition to prayers and songs shared during the vigil, some gathered offered tributes honoring the Tlingit ancestry of Torres and his family.
Sierra Coronell, his niece, asked her paternal family members "to do one final howl for my Uncle Alfred," and they responded by coming together in a circle and uttering wolf calls as a tributory sendoff.
Ken Williams, who said he’s known Torres since childhood, asked the Raven clan members gathered at the vigil to come together to offer a blessing to Torres’ family as Eagle clan members.
"We're just going to show our love here for one minute to let them know that we're here to protect them and that we love them, so no more harm will come to them," Williams said, directing his comments at Torres’ brothers in particular.
Torres himself was the survivor of a long-ago attack that resulted in the death of his brother, Kenneth Thomas. Torres and Thomas were at home watching a movie on the morning of Jan. 25, 2000, when they were attacked by Ronald Smith and Rey Soto, who were armed with a baseball bat and shotgun, according to court records. Smith and Soto fled with approximately $30 and six ounces of marijuana, while Thomas died from his injuries and Torres suffered lifelong impairments from his.
Two decades of legal proceedings involving multiple trials followed the attack. Ultimately Smith and Soto were both convicted of second-degree murder and other charges. Smith’s final sentencing of 70 years in prison came in 2022, during which he offered an apology to Thomas’ family.
"What I’ve always wanted was for him to apologize to my family, and he did that,” Torres told the Juneau Empire after the sentencing. “I got to hear him speak, hear what he had to say, but ultimately, I do think this (sentencing) was fair. I could say that I wish he had a life sentence, but everybody deserves a second chance, and I believe he deserves a second chance. When he does go back into society, I hope he just betters himself and looks back at this day that happened and doesn’t let anything like it ever happen again.”
Torres’ daughter, Laurie Lott, said after Thursday’s vigil she is now awaiting further court proceedings for what she hopes is a just outcome in her father's death.
"I went to all the court hearings so far," she said.
Meanwhile, fundraising efforts for memorial services and to help Torres’ family are taking place. Lott said that includes a food sale by the family Friday evening, with the schedule for a viewing and memorial service yet to be determined.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
