By C1 Staff
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Twelve years have passed since Darla Lathrem, a Charlotte County correctional officer, was killed by three of the inmates she was charged with supervising.
NBC News reports that a memorial for Lathrem was held Thursday at the Charlotte Correctional Institution, where she was killed with a sledgehammer in 2003.
Lathrem had been supervising an inmate construction crew when she was attacked. After her death, the three inmates responsible attempted to escape but were caught shortly thereafter.
Two were sentenced to death and a third took a plea deal to obtain life in prison.
Lathrem’s 89-year-old father spoke during the memorial.
“In some sense, it feels like it might have been just yesterday,” David Lathrem said. “I remember it was about 2 o’clock in the morning, someone was knocking on our door.” He said he was in shock as officers delivered the tragic news.
Her friends and family remember her as fearless. Her murder sparked an investigation that found prison policies were not being followed.
“In an incident like this, you’re gonna have to review your policies … God forbid something like this were to ever happen again,” CCI Warden Tom Reid said.