Memorial Signs Erected In Asher To Honor 18-Year-Old Murder Victim

An 18-year-old murder victim is honored at the site of his death in Pottawatomie County. Generro Sanchez was a student at East Central University when police say he was kidnapped and killed by a fellow student.

It happened along Substation Road in Asher, a gravel road lined with old, faded signs. It’s an area Jeana Schultz visits but can barely stomach. “It's very nauseating,” she said. “I don't feel him here, not an echo of his presence.”

However, she marked the area a year ago with a sign, already falling apart, containing pictures of her son because this is where he took his last breath. “It still gets to me,” Schultz said.

Johnny Moon lives up the road and was the one who discovered the crime scene back in December 2012. “If anybody knows anything about it, they know it was senseless,” Moon said.

Police say Sanchez was kidnapped at gunpoint in Ada by fellow student Jerrod Murray and forced to drive an hour and a half to Substation Road where he was shot to death. A judge found Murray not guilty by reason of insanity. Murray remains in a mental hospital. “I feel anger is what I feel at the moment,” said Sanchez’s sister, Samantha Roberts.

On Friday, this was the first time Roberts had visited the site of her brother’s murder. “I don't feel his presence here,” Roberts said. “I’m glad I don't feel his presence here, this isn't where I would want to feel his presence, I’d want to feel it at home.”

However, the family reunited here for a reason, to unveil two memorial signs at each end of the road. “You couldn't have ‘awesome’ without him, that was just his thing, you can't have awesome without me,” said Roberts.

So, that’s what the sign says, ‘Dedicated in loving memory of Generro Sanchez, awesome son, brother, and friend.’ And unlike the tattered sign that’s a reminder of his death, the family hopes these signs will stand the test of time to honor his life. “I want everybody to know that his life had meaning,” said Schultz. “I don’t want the community of Asher to forget, and I don't want the people that drive up and down the road to forget.”

Related Articles: Death Penalty Sought In Pottawatomie County Slaying