CASPER, Wyo. — Lene’a Brown’s short but vibrant life was projected on a large screen inside an almost completely darkened room filled with her friends and family on Tuesday, May 21 in Fort Caspar.
The video packed 17 years into 30 minutes, ranging from pictures of Lene’a as a smiling baby to a laughing teen. Music softly played, but the air was mostly filled with sounds of sobs and laughs, emotions ranging from anguish to joy. Sometimes audience members would talk to her, as if she was still there. “You go girl!” someone playfully shouted.
Sitting at a table in front were her parents, David Henrikson and Toni Brown. Toni would bury her head on David’s shoulder to weep before looking up to smile at her daughter.
Lene’a was shot and killed by an ex-boyfriend in the early hours of May 14. The accused killer, also a teenager, is being charged as an adult.
The sudden and confounding loss is still rippling through Lene’a’s close circle of friends and family. The celebration of life on Tuesday is the start of a week-long goodbye to a life cut too short. The family will hold a public viewing at Bustard’s on Wednesday, May 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. Lene’a will then be laid to rest in Saint Stephens, Wyoming, after an all-night vigil on Thursday and a traditional burial on Friday. The customs are part of the Northern Arapahoe tradition of honoring their deceased.
David dug her grave himself this week, hiding the fresh blisters on his hands. “That’s our tradition,” he said on Tuesday while mingling outside. “There was nothing better than doing that for my daughter.”
He was there her whole life, he said. That life was just on the screen a bit earlier, flooding back memories and emotions.
“The feelings never stop,” he said, voice quivering.
“I just want my baby.”
