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On Feb. 25, 2019, Molley Lanham accompanied her then-boyfriend to a rural Porter County home where a marijuana drug transaction was to take place. While there, 19-year-old Lanham was murdered by one of the drug dealers.
The lengthy trial of the killer was attended by Molley’s mother, stepfather and two sisters. After the trial and conviction, the family created the Molley Lanham Foundation through which families of victims are comforted during and after court proceedings.
The time the Lanham family spent in the hallways of the Porter County Courthouse exposed a major shortfall in how victims and their families are treated during criminal trials. As a result, in conjunction with award-winning victim advocate Ona Torres and Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Buitendorp (who was then a deputy prosecutor), a vision originated to transform empty space in the Porter County Courthouse into trauma-informed comfort rooms to serve the most critical needs of crime victims.
The vision included an open entry space with four offices, each serving different purposes: a soft interview room, a dual-purpose hospitality suite for hosting educational sessions for victims of domestic violence, a private retreat for families during trial and a very special place for complicated and sensitive work with child victims. These rooms expand the service provided to victims in many ways. For example, victims of domestic violence rarely have child care when they need to meet with the prosecutor’s office. There is now a safe space for the children to play or read during which time we can speak candidly with those victims. The child or children cannot overhear their mothers or fathers while they are in different rooms describing the details of the trauma inflicted by another parent.
This project represents the combined commitment and contributions of so many. It is proof positive of what can be accomplished when a vision is followed with strategic planning and sacrificial hard work. Rebecca and Ona acted as the general contractors, interior designers, architects and publicists, in addition to collecting over $60,000 through fundraising.
The short list of those who made this possible include:
- Porter County commissioners
- Porter County Council
- Our facilities and IT departments
- Ivy Tech Community College (interns)
- Partnerships with the newly formed, highly skilled and sophisticated Sexual Assault Response Team
- The amazing women of the Tri Kappa Service Sorority and their abundant generosity
- Special members of the Molley Lanham Foundation: Molley’s parents, Mark and Stacy, and Molley’s sisters, Lindsey and Lauren, both of whom now serve as deputy prosecutors in Lake County. These rooms are intended to serve as a legacy to the life of Molley Lanham.
- Thousands of dollars in donations given in the purest form by those who wished to remain anonymous
These rooms will now serve future generations of traumatized men, women and children who will have suffered indescribable tragedies at the hands of someone else. The furniture, fixtures, paint and decorations are all strategic choices. It is our hope these rooms will serve as places of comfort and reassurance, empathy and courage, kindness and compassion; a place to heal and grieve; a place where fear is overcome; and a place where a glimmer of hope can begin to replace darkness with light.
Now that the vision is a reality, our hope is this will also serve as a monument to our community of what we can accomplish when we come together as one. I believe these rooms will serve as a model for other criminal justice systems throughout our state and beyond. To this day, Molley’s mother, Stacy Spejewski, travels to the courthouse to replenish snacks, restock water and clean all the rooms.
Finally, there is one other room that has been designated as a work space for our office during trial. This “war room” is where we will continue to honor and embrace the highest of responsibilities for our victims, for these are the men, women and children in our community who cannot fight for themselves.
Molley’s mother, Stacy, founder of the Molley Lanham Foundation, said, “We applaud the work of the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office, Ona, and Judge Buitendorp and the allocation of funding to include [family] survivors of homicide and other previously underserved victims of crimes. Seven years ago, our family endured an unimaginable loss, but after the trial felt compelled to create something meaningful in the wake of such a horrific tragedy.”•
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Germann is the prosecutor of Porter County.
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