DENVER (KDVR) — A memorial event for Isabella Thallas was held in Denver on Saturday.
The 21-year-old was shot and killed while walking her dog in her downtown Denver neighborhood back in June of 2020.
There were about a hundred cars, even some motorcycles joining in, on what organizers called a memorial cruise.
The grueling part of this story is the weapon that took her life. It was a stolen gun from a Denver police officer’s home, and the gun was never even reported missing.
The ride was to honor a young woman’s life that was taken too soon.
“It could be one in a million, and it could be anybody’s one,” Josh Thallas, Isabella’s dad said.
About 100 loud and colorful cars gathered together showing that Isabella’s memory will never fade.
“It’s everything. And I say that I mean, just to show that there are so many people in this world. There’s way more good than there is bad,” Thallas said. “This is proof right here of exactly what that is. Some of them are really great friends of mine, and some I’ve never met before.”
During the event, Thallas had a smile on his face saying this is what his daughter Isabella would want.
“She just loves bringing people together, seeing a good time,” Thallas said.
Even connecting with other fathers who lost their daughters.
“Just when you think you have a huge rock you’re pushing up a hill, there are other human beings in the world that have huge rocks as well,” Thallas said. “It’s a hard place to be, that’s a hole and a void that never gets filled or fixed. It’s a club that you never want to be a part of.”
Organizers also collected donations and sold t-shirts to maintain her garden and start a scholarship fund.
Michael Close was charged in the shooting with two counts of murder in the first degree among other charges and has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.