It's been almost a month since Anna Holmes was shot and killed at a Kearns video store, but community members have not forgotten.Karen Sharp, a Salt Lake resident, is organizing a benefit concert May 23 in Symphony Hall to raise funds for the victim's family.
"Nothing can be done to bring back Anna, but we'll all feel better if we can do at least something," said Sharp, who admitted she never knew Holmes but said she feels as though she knows her now.
Sharp, a singer, said she often thought about the brutal slaying and wished that there was something she could do. A co-worker encouraged her to send a tape of her music to the family, and it was then that Sharp got the idea for the benefit concert.
"I realized there can be a real strength from music," she said.
Sharp contacted the local group Afterglow and singer Bryce Newbert and sought their talents for the benefit. Both agreed to perform at the concert for no fee.
"We felt we wanted to be involved with something to bring the community together," said Joel McCausland of Afterglow.
"The focus for us will be to provide a tribute to Anna Holmes. We want to provide a message of hope . . . for the family because they're the ones that will live on with the memory."
The Salt Lake County Commission is considering a request from Sharp to donate to the concert in order to defray the cost of renting the hall. Many friends and community members are offering their help for the concert, and the only funds that will not go to the family are those that may be needed to pay for the hall, she said.
Tickets for the benefit are $3. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m.