State officials provided an update on the erection of a memorial for those who lost their lives during the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans last year.
Gov. Jeff Landry’s Office of Victims Advocacy, in conjunction with the Fourteens Foundation, are held a press conference Wednesday to share the final recommendation for the permanent memorial in New Orleans.
The commission recommends that a dedicated physical space, possibly in Woldenberg Park, should be erected for victim’s families and survivors.
The Fourteens Foundation, founded by families of victims and survivors, will help choose a design for the memorial.
The committee now is looking to find funding to go towards the design of the memorial.
The memorial will honor the 14 lives lost and the injured survivors on Jan. 1, 2025, in the French Quarter.
About the victims:
Tiger Bech:
The first victim identified during the attack was Tiger Bech.
Bech was a standout football, lacrosse, and track and field athlete. He was hailed a hero after pushing a young woman out of the way of the suspect’s truck during the attack, saving her life while losing his own.
Bech was an alum of St. Thomas More Catholic High School.
Nikyra Dedeaux:
Nikyra Dedeaux was a Mississippi native visiting New Orleans to ring in the new year.
She was struck and killed by the suspect’s truck.
At just 18 years old, she dreamed of becoming a registered nurse and had a job at a hospital. She was set to start college before her death.
Nicole Perez:
Nicole Perez, a Metairie woman, had just been promoted after working at a local deli when she was killed during the attack.
She was a single mother to a 4-year-old son.
Perez was remembered as a really good mother, working hard to make her living situation better for her and her son.
Drew Dauphin:
Andrew Dauphin, 26, of Montgomery, Alabama, was a 2023 graduate of Auburn University when he was killed during the attack.
Dauphin was a supplier process engineer at the American Honda Motor Company in Birmingham at the time of his death.
Reggie Hunter:
Reggie Hunter, a Baton Rouge native, was a father of two and was leaving work when he was killed during the attack.
According to the family, Hunter went to Bourbon Street to ring in the new year with a cousin before tragedy struck.
His cousin, Shirell Robinson Jackson, who was not on Bourbon Street with him during the time of the attack, says he sent a text to the family group chat saying Happy New Year, just hours before he was killed.
Jackson says Reggie was a manager at a warehouse in Baton Rouge and loved his family. She says Reggie also loved fashion.
Matthew Tenedorio:
Matthew Tenedorio was a Picayune, Mississippi, native when he was killed during the attack.
He worked at ASM Global in the video production department at Caesars Superdome and the Smoothie King Center.
Tenedorio was remembered as an animal lover with many friends.
Kareem Badawi:
Kareem Badawi, 23, was a University of Alabama freshman. He was a Louisiana native and a graduate of the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge.
He was home in Baton Rouge for winter break when he went with a group of friends to New Orleans to celebrate the new year.
Hubert Gauthreaux:
Hubert Gauthreaux was a 21-year-old Archbishop Shaw High School graduate.
He graduated in 2021.
Months after his death, his grandparents were tragically killed by an alleged drunk driver in Gretna.
Billy Dimaio:
Billy DiMaio, 25, of Holmdel, New Jersey, was described by his family as humble and gentle-hearted.
He was a New York City-based account executive for Audacy.
DiMaio was in New Orleans to celebrate New Year’s Eve and see friends who planned to go to the Sugar Bowl.
He graduated in 2022 from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, where he played on the lacrosse team and earned a master’s degree.
Terrence Kennedy:
Terrence Kennedy was affectionately known as “Terry” and was a born-and-raised New Orleanian.
His sister described him as very kind, with an extremely big heart.
Kennedy was the seventh of nine siblings of Dolores and James Kennedy.
His sister said he loved sports, the New Orleans Saints, the Kansas City Chiefs, and his favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After years working in the service industry and maintenance, Kennedy spent his retirement doing what he loved: strolling down to catch the ever-present party in the French Quarter.
“Bourbon is like a free party,” his niece, Monisha James, told The Associated Press. “He was enjoying his city that he enjoyed for 63 years,” James said her uncle liked to people-watch and often sparked conversations with strangers.
Kennedy had told his sister on New Year’s Eve that he was going out. When he didn’t answer the phone the next morning, the family spent a frantic day searching until the coroner confirmed he died in the attack.
James, 43, described her uncle as a humble helper and a handyman. Whether it was fixing up a house or playing with his nieces and nephews, he was always eager to serve others.
“Just a sweet, kind, loving, helpful person that would not harm anyone,” James said.
Sadly, illness had affected his family in recent years. Four of Kennedy’s siblings died before him, including a sister who passed away a month earlier.
Elliot Wilkinson:
Elliot Wilkinson, 40, was from Slidell.
According to CNN, Wilkinson had recently been released from prison and was living on the streets before the attack.
“He recently got out of prison and had problems with mental illness. He could’ve stayed with me, our sister or mother, but he never wanted to be a burden to the family, so he went back to New Orleans,” his brother told CNN.
Wilkinson’s brother found out about his passing when he received a call from the coroner’s office.
“To my little brother Elliot Wilkinson, you was loved and you will truly be missed,” Wilkinson’s brother also wrote on Facebook. “I know life was hard for you at times. But I wasn’t expecting to get the phone call this morning, you was one of them that got hit in New Orleans in the French Quarter,” according to the family’s statement on Facebook.
He left behind his mother, brother, sister, and a daughter.
Brandon Taylor:
Brandon Taylor, 43, of New Orleans, was celebrating the new year with his fiancée, Heather Genusa, when the attack happened.
Genusa says Taylor “loved the city of New Orleans with all of his heart, and the city let him down.”
“He loved me so much. Our lives have been altered forever. Our future together completely shattered, and my future husband torn from my life,” said Genusa.
Taylor worked as a restaurant cook in the New Orleans area and loved music, especially rap.
Edward Pettifer:
Edward Pettifer was a 31-year-old British citizen from London with ties to the Royal Family.
Pettifer was the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was the nanny for both William and his brother, Prince Harry, between 1993 and 1999, including time after the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.
The Pettifer family described Edward as a “wonderful son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend to so many.”
“We will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts are with the other families who have lost their family members due to this terrible attack,” said the Pettifer family in a statement issued after his death.
Prince William said at the time of the attack, “Catherine and I have been shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Ed Pettifer. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Pettifer family and all those innocent people who have been tragically impacted by this horrific attack.”
Latasha Polk:
LaTasha Polk was a nursing assistant from New Orleans when she was killed during the attack.
She was the mother of a teenage boy and was the last victim identified during the attack.
According to Regnicea Butler, Polk’s sister, she said the French Quarter was Polk’s favorite spot.
Butler described her as hard-working and a certified nursing assistant.
READ MORE:Commission recommends permanent terror attack memorial in Woldenberg Park. See the plans
