Pretty girl, how terrible for her family. I hope someone comes forward with some helpful information.
Posted on 05/28/2008 3:42:16 PM PDT by murdoog
Ira Yarmolenko's mother, older brother and cousin journeyed into the woods along the Catawba River for the first time Tuesday to see the spot where the slain UNC Charlotte student was found dead May 5.
Brother Pavel Yarmolenko, a graduate student at Duke University, said he appreciated a memorial placed on the riverbank by two jet skiers that found her body - Dennis Lovelace and Brenda Pierce. Yet somehow the crime scene - a grassy slope rising up from the tranquil river - could not convey the horror of his sister's final moments.
"I don't know if I felt any connection to the place. It seemed too surreal that my sister would end up there," Pavel Yarmolenko said, as he hung flyers on utility poles in Mount Holly near the I-85 exit 27 interchange with N.C. 273.
That's less than a mile from the crime scene.
Chances are Ira Yarmolenko and her killer traveled that route three weeks ago. Police say Yarmolenko, 20, died of asphyxiation.
Jet skiers found her body about 1:15 p.m. She was lying outside of her dark blue Saturn, which had traveled into the woods behind the Stowe Family YMCA and the Water's Edge development, then down a steep embankment, where it crashed a few feet from the river.
Pavel Yarmolenko, his mother Yelena Yarmolenko and cousin Natalie Deyneka, 20, hung dozens of flyers on the UNC Charlotte campus and in Mount Holly. They hope that someone traveling in those areas might have seen something that would help Mount Holly police make an arrest in the case.
As time passes, memories fade, and the likelihood that reliable witnesses will come forward tends to diminish, Pavel Yarmolenko said.
"We're in a race against the clock to get information," he said.
Mount Holly spokeswoman Leslie Shiel could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Police have not released any new details from their investigation in more than a week.
Surveillance video from University Goodwill, where Ira Yarmolenko stopped to make a donation at 10:18 a.m. on the day of her death, became public on May 16. She was last seen at Jackson's Java, a café near campus, at 10:50 a.m.
The public should not misinterpret a lapse in media coverage as a sign that police are not making progress, Pavel Yarmolenko said. The trail has not gone cold, but additional information could still help police make a stronger case, he said.
The flyers posted Tuesday by the Yarmolenko family announce in bold letters a $10,000 reward offered by UNC Charlotte for information leading to the arrest of Ira Yarmolenko's killer.
Anyone with information that could be helpful to detectives should call the Mount Holly Police Department 704-827-4343, UNC Charlotte Police at 704-687-2200, or Gaston County Crime Stoppers at 704-861-8000.
Pavel Yarmolenko said he is also having the flyers translated into Spanish.
"We welcome anonymous tips," he said. "We don't care where the tip comes from."
The Yarmolenko family also met with Mount Holly detectives Tuesday to thank them for their efforts and with members of the UNC Charlotte Student Government.
Student leaders are working with the family to honor Ira Yarmolenko by forming an organization of student volunteers dedicated to working with poor children.
I’m sorry to see they haven’t made an arrest yet. The more time passes, the less likely it is that they’ll catch the perp or have enough evidence to convict.
Pretty girl, how terrible for her family. I hope someone comes forward with some helpful information.
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