"It's never going to be over; there is partial closure"; exclusive interview with Fr. Eric's family and photos

These are photos I took in the lobby on the first floor of the Courthouse. In the first photo, you see all of Fr. Eric Freed's sisters with Victim Witness Advocate Marybeth Bian. In the second photo, the sisters are with family friend and family attorney, Ms. Kathleen Bryson.

The t-shirts the sisters are wearing was designed by Ms. Bryson's daughter, Gillian, who attended St. Bernard's Catholic School and were made and are available at Humboldt Republic. They did not wear them during the trial and those of us who have had these did not wear it in the past two years to court or at trial, out of respect for the judicial process.

After the sentencing was over, parishioners and community members who knew Fr. Eric gathered in a small conference room. KIEM, North Coast News, LOCO, TS, Mad River Union and I all received copies of the victim statements, made by three of Fr. Eric's sisters. His sister Melissa (with the cap) was unable to make it to the trial but she is here for the sentencing.

They agreed to speak only with me, privately, to answer any questions. I was so overwhelmed myself with emotions that I could not think of many questions.

I asked them how they felt, Fr. Eric's sister Anita said, "It's never going to be over; there is partial closure."

"We know he is never going to be out," said Melissa. She added that knowing that no other family has to go through what they did is a relief and they are grateful that the community will be safe.

His twin sister Karin, repeated what she read in her statement in court. "The only way we can see him is at his gravesite."

Melissa said that the she still had a birthday message recorded on her answering machine from September 2013 after she made a birthday call to her brother in September 2013. She put it on disk and gave her sisters a copy.

Amidst our grief, relief and tears, I learned that one of my favorite homilies, a story about his dad, was not quite the way Fr. Eric told it. I joked, "Are you telling me he lied to us?" Laughing, one sister said yes; the other said, each person remembers events differently; and one sister said, "Let's just say he had a wonderful imagination."

I asked them about something they had privately shared with me a long time ago. They found out about their brother's death through the media. The police had not yet been able to notify them. At the press conference, Eureka Police Chief declined to mention who the victim was but Eureka Mayor Frank Jager, said "We all know it's Fr. Eric."

The family said that Mayor Jager apologized to them. "That meant a lot."

The family said they had asked why Bullock was not held in jail. They said Deputy District Attorney Andrew Isaac told them that "even if Bullock was on probation, the jail could not hold him, they would have to rearrest him."

The family was unanimous in agreement that since District Attorney Maggie Fleming took over, they have been very impressed. They especially wanted to thank Ms. Bian who has been there for them since the beginning.