Murdered teen's friend finds family in quest to mark her grave

Dawn Williams never forgot her best friend from junior high — Katrina Cheely.

In 1984, Katrina disappeared from her home near Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Months later, a can collector found the 15-year-old's body in a ditch on 151st Street West. Authorities said she had been murdered; they charged a man, who was later acquitted.

In 2005, Williams went to put flowers on Katrina's grave at Resthaven Cemetery but couldn't find it. Katrina's family didn't have money for a marker, and her grave remained unmarked. It motivated Williams to try to obtain a marker, but the effort stalled when Williams couldn't locate Katrina's mother to get permission to place a marker.

"I almost gave up," Williams says.

But now, it looks like a marker finally could be placed at the teen's grave.

Williams recently found a relative of Katrina's while surfing the Internet, and a phone call to him put her in touch with Katrina's mother, Linda.

As a young teen, Williams called Linda "Mom." Linda says she was touched by the recent call from Williams. The two women hadn't talked in about 24 years.

Linda said she thought her daughter, the victim of a crime so long ago, was forgotten.

"Then Dawn called me. She said, 'No, Mom, we all remember Katrina. And we will always remember Katrina.'

"I know that now people haven't forgotten her," said Linda, who asked that her last name not be used because of security concerns.

Linda said she has given Williams permission for a marker to be placed, and paperwork is under way to make it official.

Resthaven, the cemetery off West Kellogg where Katrina is buried, plans to take donations to pay for the marker. Checks should be written payable to Resthaven, for Katrina. (The mailing address: attention/Lois Thompson, Resthaven, 11800 W. Highway 54, Wichita, KS 67209.)

It will cost a minimum of about $1,500 for a marker, said Lois Thompson, who works as a family service representative for Resthaven.

Williams is excited about the developments.

"It gives me goosebumps every time I think she (Katrina) will be recognized," she said.

Katrina was Linda's first-born.

"She was a lot of fun. She made me laugh so hard sometimes," Linda said.

"She was a loving girl, and kind."

Katrina's death, especially because it was so brutal, devastated Linda. She moved from Wichita.

"I tried to put Wichita behind me," she said.

The burial plot was donated, but the family couldn't afford a marker, Linda said. She thought about trying to move her daughter's body to a family cemetery.

"I had to leave her body there because I didn't have enough money."

Every holiday, she said, "I just look up to heaven" and talk to Katrina.

"I truly believe that one of these days, I'm going to see her again.

"I miss her so much."

Katrina would have been 41 on March 13.

"Now, I know that people will see that, 'Hey, there is somebody in the ground, don't walk on her grave,' " Linda said.

"It's about time a murder victim has been recognized."

This story was originally published June 10, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Murdered teen's friend finds family in quest to mark her grave."