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E-mail Story'We don't want to rush to judgment'
This story originally appeared July 12, 2003
| Thursday, Feb 15 2007 2:55 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Feb 15 2007 2:55 PM
Hundreds of Bakersfield residents gathered Friday night for the city's first chance to grieve the loss of a family of five found murdered Tuesday.
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And for the first time, the family of Earnestine Harper, 70, her daughter Joanie Harper, 39, and Joanie's three children, Marques, 4, Lyndsey, 2, and Marshall, 6 weeks, spoke out about their tragic deaths.
Earnestine Harper's son said the family is prepared to be patient while law enforcement searches for who murdered his mother, sister and his two young nephews and niece.
As for Vincent Brothers, a man many in the family had never met, they were not prepared to declare him a suspect.
So far, Brothers is the only suspect the police have named in the murders. Brothers was married to Joanie Harper.
"We don't want to rush to judgment," said Eddie Harper, 46, as he spoke to reporters Friday night outside of the Compassion Christian Center. "If the perpetrator isn't found, God will avenge. We'll leave it in his hands."
Eddie Harper said he hopes that Brothers will cooperate with detectives.
Brothers still hadn't spoken with Bakersfield police investigators as of Friday.
He turned himself in Wednesday to police in North Carolina, but then refused to speak to Bakersfield detectives when they arrived.
He was briefly placed under arrest, but authorities later released him without filing charges.
Nearly 300 people packed the church on Fourth Street, coming together to remember the Harper family, found slain Tuesday in their home on the corner of Third and P streets.
Eddie Harper, along with other family members, traveled to Bakersfield on Thursday and Friday to prepare for and attend the funeral of their loved ones.
He was the last speaker at the ceremony, where Earnestine Harper was remembered and honored for her work in the church and in the community.
"The legacy that she lived will go on in us," Eddie Harper said. "I believe that her courage and faith will live on in many of you."
Several local ministers took turns speaking about Earnestine Harper and the importance of using faith and prayer to get through this tragedy.
Some people wept openly, while others stood up with arms raised singing, "I woke up this morning with my mind set on Jesus."
Leticia Perez came all the way from Santa Barbara for the service. A Bakersfield native, she felt compelled to support the family.
"Being from Bakersfield, this community is very near and dear to my heart," she said.
Perez was there with her father, local pastor Victor Perez. The two said they wanted to show that the Hispanic community was also touched by this crime.
"The Bible says when one hurts, we all hurt. When one rejoices, we all rejoice," Victor Perez said. "The family needs our support."
"We've got dinner sitting in the oven. It's cold, but we want to be here," Leticia Perez said.
After the service, Linda Piggee, sister of Joanie Harper and daughter of Earnestine Harper, was visibly shaken and weeping.
"A baby. They took my baby," she said. "They took my mama. My sister. I just can't believe it. It's just so vicious. It's unbelievable."
Piggee repeated her brother's sentiments. She said it was up to God to judge the perpetrator and she was not willing to pass judgment on Brothers.
"That's God's will. He will take care of that. That's what Earnestine Harper said," Piggee said of her mother.
The family said they will be patient with the justice system and now their main focus is preparing for the funeral, which is scheduled for Wednesday.
Representatives of the Harper family were talking with Jim Foss, director of Centennial Garden and the Bakersfield Convention Center about renting the Convention Center for a memorial service next week. But a deal hadn't been sealed as of Friday afternoon, Foss said.
A funeral for all five is tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Bakersfield Convention Center, 1001 Truxtun Ave.
Rucker's Mortuary is handling the arrangements.
Vincent Brothers did not attend Friday's service. He arrived at LAX shortly after 8 p.m. and was believed to be on his way to Bakersfield.
His name went unmentioned during the memorial, but he was on the minds of many who attended.
"I'm not going to say nothing bad about him. He was nice to me. He treated my kids nice. He was a good mentor towards the kids," said Loretta Bryant, whose children attended schools where Brothers worked.
Shann Kern, who has a daughter by Brothers and had befriended Joanie and Earnestine Harper, also attended the service. She was overcome afterwards.
"I go from feeling good to feeling bad to feeling good and feeling bad and I just crash," Kern said. "There's no in-between."
Kern, who has had some rough dealings with Brothers, said she "never would have believed in a million years" that a situation like this one would occur.
"If he did it, if he didn't do it, we need to make sure it's the right person," she said.
Once again those who said they knew Brothers and worked with him felt he was incapable of the crime.
Family members said they didn't know the facts of the case and rather than speculate took more of a wait-and-see approach.
"I did not know Vincent. We're not here as his judge," Eddie Harper said. "If he is innocent it would be a travesty to judge him outside the court."
-- Staff writer James Burger contributed to this report.