Arizona widow wonders why someone tore down a memorial set up for her late husband
LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. - Flowers, candles and balloons have been marking the spot where a man was killed during a hit-and-run in May.
However, the memorial was torn down in the middle of the night, and the victim's wife wants to know who did it.
"I came, and I’m like in shock that all of his stuff is gone," said Shelley Disney. "There were pieces of some balloon that was left over, a piece of a flower, so somebody just came and tore stuff down."
In the span of a month, Disney went from a newlywed to a widow.
"He was my soulmate, and I still can’t grasp that my husband is not with me," said Shelley.
Shelley and her husband, Brian, eloped and got married in a courthouse. Shelley said they were planning a big reception for all their family and friends, but on May 19, Brian went for a motorcycle ride, and never returned.
Less than a mile from their home in Litchfield Park, in the area of Dysart and Rose Lane, Shelley found her husband lying in the street, surrounded by first responders.
"It kinda stinks that it just happened so close to our home, because I have to see it everyday," said Shelley.
The person responsible for potentially hitting Brian still hasn’t been found. MCSO detectives believe a dark-colored pickup truck ran Brian over while he was already laying in the road, possibly after hitting a sign.
Now, the one spot where Shelley could go to grieve and feel closer to Brian has been ripped down.
"This was the last place I saw my husband, so it means the world to me, and for someone to do this to be vengeful or whatever you want to call it is just a horrible, horrible thing to do when all I’m doing is that keeping his memory alive, and for someone to do this, it’s just disrespecting him," said Shelley.
Shelley said Brian was a great husband and father. For Shelley, she made it a routine to visit the memorial every morning. She asked city officials if they took it down, but it wasn’t them. In fact, officials with ADOT and most city street departments say as long as they are not creating a safety hazard, memorials can stay.
"I came by again this morning, and to just see it empty was, like, not the same. But then, it's like ‘oh, is someone going to do this again?’ But you know what? Go ahead, ‘cause I’ll keep putting it up," said Shelley.
Officials with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office are asking for the public to provide any information that may help solve this case, and provide some answers.