Torrey Donnell Manuel
8/18/1973 - 1/1/2003
{MAMA} Mothers Against Murderers Association, Inc.
Is Founded In His Memory
No one could have imagined the unspeakable tragedy that was about to befall our family on January the 1st, 2003… a tragedy that would change and redirect our lives forever. My son, Torrey Donnell Manuel, a young man with a promising future was taken from our midst in a senseless act of violence. Torrey lived believing that everyone has some good in them, and that his friends were more like family. Someone Torrey considered a friend invited him to go out and celebrate New Year’s Eve. Exactly what transpired will never be known, but Torrey never came home. He was dead from gunshot wounds inflicted by this presumed friend, turned assailant.
Torrey was an amazing young man with a contagious smile. He loved his daughter, son, brothers, mom and other family members to the fullest. Torrey’s personality was just as beautiful as his smile. He was a hard worker, and aspired to be a builder. He was good at math and he loved to build things, especially car speakers, which he installed. He was really professional at what he did.
My message to young people all over the world is this: please be careful about whom you call a “friend”. Do not take that word for granted. It does not mean the same thing to everyone as it did to Torrey. He was always very loyal. If you come into contact with people who are not doing the right thing get away from them. Talk to your parents, talk to law enforcement, make your legacy a good one, just as Torrey did. He was loved by everyone who had the honor and opportunity to share in his journey.
Burying a precious child is the hardest thing any mother will ever have to do. The pain never goes away, you just simply learn how to live with it. The question never leaves my mind. How does someone who professes to be a friend gun down someone he’s spent most of his life with, from childhood to adulthood. Torrey was twenty nine years old with so much life left to live when he was murdered. I will never have the opportunity to see Torrey get married, have more children. He will never see his daughter marry, or meet his granddaughter or any other grandchildren who may follow.
Georgia Dixon, Torrey Manuels's Mother.
Not a day goes by that I do not think of Torrey, and wonder what he would be doing had he had the opportunity to live and enjoy his family and his life, just as his friend is and has been doing since the day he murdered my son. Although every death is disturbing, an unexpected death tests our own sense of safety in the world. A random, senseless shooting underscores how vulnerable we all are, especially if the victim is someone we know. The death of a child confuses and devastates everyone who loves them. Every life matters, for me life will never be the same. Torrey legacy and memory has touched lives all over the world, his memory is one that can’t ever be erased. Founded in his memory is {MAMA} Mothers Against Murderers Association, Inc.
Written by: Georgia Dixon, Torrey Manuels’s Mother
