SAN ANTONIO — Family, friends and community members gathered at St. David Episcopal Church to memorialize Willow Grace Clare, who was stabbed to death in April just a couple of days before celebrating her first birthday.
Frank Trevino, a longtime advocate for families of missing and murdered people in San Antonio, attended the public service memorial to pay his respects.
“So much promise lost,” Trevino said.
Trevino shared excerpts of biblical hymns sung during the service, which capture the innocence of children.
“Children of the heavenly father, nothing is lost on the breath of God. Next one, Lord of the Small. All these words, all these songs, very appropriate for little Willow,” Trevino said.
Willow’s mother Mariah Clare and 2-year-old sister Rosalie survived the April 10 attack by 50-year-old Stephen Clare at their home off Robinhood Place near Alamo Heights.
According to authorities, a domestic dispute led to ex-husband Stephen Clare shooting Mariah then stabbing Willow and Rosalie.
Police arrested the suspect at a nearby residence and charged him with capital murder of a child under 10 and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Stephen Clare remains in the Bexar County jail on bonds totaling $4 million. He’s expected to appear in court on May 10.
The wealth of community support since the April incident has been immense through monetary donations, prayers and heartfelt messages online.
A GoFundMe campaign for Mariah and Rosalie has so far raised nearly $20,000.
While Mariah and Rosalie are now out of the hospital, the road to healing is a long one. But they’re not alone in their journey.
“I do appreciate the opportunities that arise with a lot of these situations. Anything I can do to help, anything that we can do to help as a community is great," Trevino said.