Families Of Murder Victims Say Mowing Damaged Memorial Site In Tulsa: 'This Is Something That Means A Lot To Us'

An “Up With Trees” site intended to be a memorial for Families of Murdered Children now only has one marker, and families believe careless mowing by an ODOT contractor has destroyed the meaning of the site.

“This may not be a graveyard, but it's close enough to a graveyard for most of us. This is something that means a lot to us. We just want to go out there and remember our people,” said T. J. Murphy, who helped get a marker by a tree there for a friend who was murdered.

The site has 22 trees standing, with a few damaged markers, and only one fully intact.

Murphy said there should be 30 trees at the site, but he’s seen them mowed over and the markers tossed aside.

A spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said both Up With Trees and ODOT mow the site, and contractors are instructed to be careful around any sort of roadside memorial.

A call to Up With Trees about their plans for the site was not returned.