Murdered ham radio operator remembered

A 22 year old is being held in connection with the death of Demetria L. Bracey, KD5QBA of Jackson, Mississippi.
Both were students at the same school. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, has more:

To her many friends and acquaintances in the Jackson Amateur Radio Club, she was KD5QBA.

To those who read The Clarion Ledger Newspaper in Mississippi a few weeks ago, she was just another victim of a brutal, off-campus murder.

Her name was Demetria Bracey.

She was a senior at the University of Mississippi majoring in French. She played clarinet in the university marching band. She was a resident advisor in Crosby Hall on the university campus. And, she was only 21.

The Oxford Police Department in Lafayette County, Mississippi alleges she was killed by a friend, 22-year-old David Williams. She was found stabbed to death in his apartment.

While a newspaper story of this promising young woman's passing acknowledged her academic and extracurricular activities, it also mentioned her connection to amateur radio.

Bill McLarty, KM5GE, former treasurer of the Jackson Amateur Radio Club, recalled the bright, young high school student who showed up at the American Red Cross building behind the Murrah High School where the club met that night in 2001.

"She just introduced herself and said that she was interested in amateur radio and that this was the place she needed to be," McLarty recalls. "So we invited her to our meeting and she sat there very intently smiling the whole time, asking questions, she enjoyed our program I think. She just expressed interest in getting her ham radio license.

And, from that moment, McLarty says she was hooked on the hobby.

"She did continue to attend our monthly meetings and picked up a couple of Elmers along the way," McLarty says. "She then appeared at our bi-monthly VE session one Sunday afternoon in November of 2001, I believe it was, and passed the Technician exam on the first try."

Club members were impressed by Demetria's interest and two reached out to help her get on the air.

"One of our members gave her his cast-off, 2-meter handie-talkie so that she could get on the air," McLarty says. "In fact, I believe I was her first contact right after that meeting. We just walked out into the parking lot and I grabbed one of my HTs and we called each other and that was her first contact."

McLarty recalls club members were so taken with Demetria's enthusiasm that she was recognized with a special club award - the Breland Award - presented annually to outstanding young hams in the Jackson area.

"Because of our experience with Demetria, she was pretty much a shoo-in for the award that year and she was presented the award at our hamfest in February of 2002," McLarty says.

And, then Demetria graduated from high school and went off to college. McLarty says she lost touch with many in the Jackson club, but that's pretty typical for college students. McLarty says they didn't forget her.

Then, came the shocking news of her death. McLarty says the club conducted a moment of silence to remember Demetria during their meeting, two days after she was found.

Now, McLarty says, he hopes Demetria's passing won't be the end of her story.

"I hope that something positive could come out of her untimely passing," McLarty says. "It was noted in the write-ups about her that she was an amateur radio operator and I'm just certain that they're some young people out there who'd want to emulate her in every possible way and hopefully becoming a ham will be part of that legacy."

Mark Abramowicz, NT3V
Amateur Radio Newsline