AURORA | Jamie Becker and Janet Wood could hardly bring themselves to point to the parking lot across the street, a space cordoned off by yellow police tape and patrol cars.
The pair spoke from a dusty rise on east side of Sable Boulevard on July 22, a stretch of undeveloped land that has transformed into hallowed ground. Twelve wooden crosses had risen on that hill within the past day, and each bore the name of a life taken in the rampage July 20 at the Aurora Century 16 theaters.
One of the simple crucifixes bore the name of Becker and Wood’s friend: Rebecca Wingo. With a visible amount of effort and pain, they pointed to the empty theater parking lot across the street and singled out a Subaru station wagon.
“That’s hers. That’s her car,” Becker said, gesturing vaguely. “It’s awful. This was basically, in my opinion, a terrorist act of evil. It’s so much more personal.”
Wingo, 32, held her most recent post as a customer relations representative at a local mobile medical imaging company. She had also worked at the local Joe’s Crab Shack, and had lined up a post at Schryver Medical.
For Becker and Wood, Wingo’s life was much more than the posts that figured on her résumé. The pair came to visit the makeshift memorial on Sable and Centrepoint Drive mere hours after the 12 crosses had gone up, traveling from their home in Loveland to pay tribute to a woman and a mother, someone who’d played a key role in their lives. The pair visited the site before crowds started streaming to the Aurora Municipal Center a short distance away for the mass vigil Sunday night.
“We were introduced to her a couple of years ago. She was friends with my brother-in-law, Cody Schaffer … She introduced my brother to Cody. She officiated their wedding in Iowa, where it’s legal,” Becker recalled. “That’s when we met her.”
At 6 a.m. on July 20, Becker and Wood received calls at their home in Loveland from concerned relatives in New York. They saw the news reports. They took in the shocking details of the mass shooting at a theater in Aurora, and thought at first that all of their loved ones were safe.
“I called my brothers to make sure that they were OK, and that’s all we knew,” Becker said. “We didn’t find out until 4 p.m. that Rebecca was missing. We didn’t even know that she was here until 4 p.m. that night.”
Six hours later, they found out that she was one of the 12 casualties.
“She was full of life,” Wood said.
Immediately after, Becker added, “She was full of love. She believed in love.”
On the wooden cross that bore Wingo’s name, the pair had written a tribute in black magic marker, a message that echoed a recollection rooted in warmth, affection and light.
“You had the most beautiful smile, the kindest soul and the best spirit,” the message read. “You’ll be missed.”
Rebecca Wingo is my granddaughter thank you for being her friends. She accomplished so much in her short lifetime and overcame much adversity to do it. So you see she is all you say and more.