Hundreds gather at vigil for missing woman found dead

FLORENCE — More than 300 people gathered at sunset Wednesday for a candlelight vigil held for a missing Florence woman found dead that morning.

Willie Mae Hayes, 69, was found at about 2 a.m. Wednesday after she’d been stabbed to death.

The vigil, held at Monumental Baptist Church, was planned when Hayes still was missing, but many who attended the funeral never thought it would be held in the wake of her death.

“It was not set up to be a memorial,” said the Rev. Vandroth Backus, pastor of Monumental Baptist Church. “It was set up so that our prayers would be answered and that the perpetrators would be caught and brought to justice. (This event) was meant to heal the wounds of the family.”

During the vigil, family members embraced each other as Backus prayed for them and the community. He told those in attendance that Hayes was now with God.

“She’s resting, she’s sleeping, no troubles,” he said.

Backus, who also is Hayes’ cousin, said she had been a member of the church for 33 years and was a gentle woman and the mother of two children.

“When I founded the church, she came to me,” she said. “She was quiet and so wonderful, unassuming and always willing to help, not only her church but the neighbors and the children in the community. Never have I seen her angry and I’ve known her all my life.”

Wednesday’s vigil was meant to be a comfort but also a wake-up call to the people of Florence, he said.

“North Florence can be no better than what we allow it to be,” Backus said. “(When people realize) they can call the police station and report crime and their identity not be revealed, you’ll see a great difference in crime in this city.”

Because Hayes was attacked by three young men who broke into her home, Backus said the community should pay attention to the boys and men around them and question their actions to make sure they’re legit.

“A man’s home is his castle. You should be able to go home and lock that door and have no body mess with you,” he said. “No man has the right to invade those premises ... that is a right guaranteed to us by the constitution of this great nation.”

Joseph Hines also attended the event and held a lit candle in honor of his first cousin.

Although the vigil offered some closure, he still finds himself searching for answers and trying to make sense of the crime, Hines said.

“I haven’t felt like this since my mother died. Everybody loved her,” Hines said. “It just don’t make no sense. I try to understand it and I just can’t understand why someone would do something like this to such a nice person. But who knows why people do what they do? It’s just evil, its demonic.”