Local Family Urges Community Members to Help Save Lives in Honor of Murdered Son

November 15, 2016, will be the third anniversary proceeding the murder of a local man, Richard Hogue.

He was fatally shot by Leon Platt after Platt took offense to something Hogue said in the early hours of the morning on November 16, 2013. At the time of his death, Hogue he was only 28 years old.

Three years later, the pain of Hogue’s death continues to linger in the hearts of his friends and family, but no one feels the pain quite like his mother who said she still attends counseling in order to cope with the loss of her beloved son.

Debbie Murdock, the mother of Hogue, said one of her most helpful coping mechanisms is to host yearly blood drives at the Ellwood City Community Center.  She hopes that these blood drives may be remedying the possibility of someone else unnecessarily losing a loved one like she did.

“No pain is worse than having your child taken away from you, especially if the circumstances were completely avoidable”, Murdock stated as she reminisced about the good times with her son.

“He was such a good guy, he absolutely worshiped his son, niece, and two sisters. He loved his family more than anything.” She also mentioned he was always eager to help anyone in need and she knows that she’s carrying on his legacy of helping others by hosting the blood drives.

The upcoming blood drive will be the forth one Murdock has arranged since her sons passing, and she’s hoping to have a good turn out this year so she can expand her efforts to larger hospitals in Pittsburgh.

She specifically encourages workers of the police, fire and rescue force to show their support by giving blood since they “see these kinds of incidents first hand.” She said Mayor Tony Court is one of the few yearly attendees that continually shows support to the blood drive.

Ultimately, Murdock wants to help others, but she also hopes it will help bring awareness to the dangers of guns which contribute to the needless shootings that happen all too often, “I’m not against guns, I hunt, I have my own… I just wish that people would be more aware of the consequences of their actions -especially when a deadly weapon is involved.”

Show your support to Richard, his mother, and the community by attending the blood drive scheduled for November 14, 2016, at 2p.m. to 7p.m. at the Ellwood City Family Center. Official flyer below.