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It has been four months since 7-year-old Hser Ner Moo was brutally murdered in a South Salt Lake apartment. Tonight, the memory of the little girl lives on as a community reaches out to other refugees.
Hser Ner Moo lived in the South Parc Apartments. It's also where she was murdered. Now the Hser Ner Moo Community Center stands in her honor. Tonight, dozens of people, including her family, dedicated the facility.
At the South Parc Apartments tonight, the mood is celebration and hope for the future.The family of Hser Ner Moo proudly displayed her portrait, which will hang inside the new community center.
Through an interpreter, the girl's father, Cartoon Wah, said, "It has a very deep meaning for me because it allows my daughter's name to carry on and never disappear."
Hser Ner Moo disappeared March 31. A day later, her body was found inside a neighboring apartment. Court documents revealed she had been sexually assaulted and either strangled or suffocated. Her body showed signs of trauma to her head, neck and torso.
The man who confessed to the crime, Esar Met, is also a Burmese refugee.
Cartoon Wah said, "In these last four months, we've been filled with great amounts of peace. We continue to carry on with love in our hearts for our daughter, the only daughter that we've been blessed with."
Karrie Pender, a refugee outreach worker with the Granite School District, said, "I feel bad, but I feel like I've drawn strength from them because they're such amazing people."
Chief Chris Snyder, with the South Salt Lake Police Department, said, "It's truly our hope and intention that she will never be forgotten."
Inside the Hser Ner Moo Community Center, bookshelves and tables are ready to help teach refugees English and social skills. Tutoring and after-school activities for children will also be available.
Bob Brown, the mayor of South Salt Lake, said of the refugees, "We love them and appreciate them and what they bring to our country."
Hser Ner Moo had been in the United States for less than a year, but her legacy will have a lasting, positive impact. "We're still a complete family, but at the same time, we still feel as if they've lost a great piece in our lives," Cartoon Wah said.
The Hser Ner Moo Community Center came together through a number of neighborhood organizations.
Meanwhile, Hser Ner Moo's alleged killer, Esar Met, won't make his preliminary hearing until December 9th.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
