Her name was Carla. His name is Zach.

Her name was Carla.

I’d see her at Resurrection House, the day shelter for homeless people where I volunteer. She was slender, pretty, with lovely hair.

She was always in a daze. “Out there” I said to one of the other guests today. “Way out there” he replied.

There was a story about Carla in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on December 4th 2007


HOLMES BEACH -- Investigators know Carla A. Beard left a residential drug rehabilitation center in Sarasota on Nov. 26, and that she died of blunt trauma to her head about two days later on Anna Maria Island.

As a first step to catch her killer, detectives are trying to piece together a time line of who was with the 29-year-old after she left the center and how she got to the Holmes Beach neighborhood.

Beard's decomposing, partially nude body was found this weekend, days after her death, giving investigators a slow start on the investigation into how she ended up about 100 feet from the Gulf of Mexico.

So Holmes Beach police Chief Jay Romine sent her photo to the media in the hope that someone saw her in a cab, on a bus or "anywhere from last Monday to Wednesday night."

A medical examiner's report puts the time of death somewhere around Wednesday night. There is no evidence Beard was killed somewhere else and then dumped in the quiet neighborhood, Romine said.

"It's no question it was a violent death," Romine said. "We don't have a weapon we've recovered."

People renting a house for a weekend party found the body while investigating an odor in pine trees behind the home, near Fifth Avenue and 50th Street, Romine said.

Relatives of the Sarasota woman did not want to comment or did not return calls Monday.

A spokesman for First Step of Sarasota, the drug treatment program, declined to comment, citing concerns about the dead woman's privacy.

Beard had a short criminal history related to drug charges, including a plea to marijuana possession and paraphernalia possession in 2001. She was also cited for possession of paraphernalia, which she pleaded to in July.


His name is Zach.


He was my check-out clerk today at our local Super Target. He asked “how are you doing?” and I replied with my usual “excellent”. “And how are you?” I asked him. “Outstanding” he said.

“Outstanding?” I queried. Yes, outstanding”

“Well”
I said, "you are either coming off duty or you have a date tonight"

I followed up with “What will you be doing tonight” “Golfing” he said. “Are you on a High School team” I enquired. ( I thought that he was about 17 years old).

“No”
, he countered, “I’m in the Army and I’m on leave”.

“Where are you based?”

“Fort Bliss”


“Have you been deployed?”

“Yes, to Iraq”.


“What was that like”.

“It was my first time out of the USA, and it was all very different. I saw things that I wished I had not seen”.

“When do you go back?”

“Back to Fort Bliss in January”


“And then”

“We’ll be shipped out again”.

I asked his name (Zach), shook his hand, and promised to pray for him.

Comments

  1. Hello "B"

    I cannot reply to you directly. Yes I did speak with Carla on various occasions. But conversation was difficult.

    She was always very gentle


    Blogger

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fr. Povey:

    Thank you for your reply. I would like to ask you more questions. We are family to the Mother of Carla. How often did you see her? Did she stay overnight? You can contact me directly at breebeach2003@yahoo.com. Bree

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did you mean you can't reply to me directly because of the investigation? I understand if that is the case. I sure hope they will find the person or persons who did this to Carla. Thank you for your time. We are praying for Carla at my Catholic church. B

    ReplyDelete
  4. No, it's because I do not have your e-mail address.

    When you comment on a blog your e-mail address is not shown.

    Pray on good friend! I truly have told you all I know


    jmp

    ReplyDelete
  5. Did either of ya'll know Carla? My email address is toydirizzo@hotmail.com, please send me an email if you knew her.

    ReplyDelete

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