ST. LOUIS — The family of Officer Blake Snyder is sharing their gratitude after a jury Friday found Trenton Forster guilty of first-degree murder.
“Thank you, God! Now I can return home and squeeze my little munchkin and tell him one day how justice was served,” Snyder’s widow posted on Facebook.
Snyder's niece said it feels like a weight has been lifted.
"When I saw that headline, I just immediately burst into tears,” Kate Hoerle said.
Kate said she followed every day of the week-long trial, learning things about her uncle even she didn't know.
"It was the closing words of the prosecution that said his last words started with ‘hey bud,’ and it was so strange that as soon as I read it, I cried immediately, not because it was like ‘Oh, these were his last words,’ but because I heard it, I heard him say it,” she said.
As for the person who took that voice from her family, Kate says her feelings are changing.
"I know Blake wouldn't want me to be resentful. Blake was just that kind of person. Oh, if he was sitting right here he would tell me, ‘Kate, you've gotta let it go, you've gotta forgive him and move on or you're not going to heal from it,” she said.
Healing she says is fueled by justice. Now, her focus is to make sure Officer Snyder is always remembered.
“He was such an inspiring person and he was so selfless, I just want to make sure he is never forgotten,” she said.