Young Lives

Doyle Murphy: Twelve people have been killed in Newburgh since Jan. 1, 2008. Collectively, it's a crisis of violence in a small city. Thousands have packed funeral masses. Friends have held vigils. City leaders have held summits.

Each name eventually fades into the subconscious of Newburgh's tragic character. But those who have been slain remain close for a growing number of relatives and friends. The mourners struggle in small and personal ways to remember their lost loved ones. They study pictures of smiling boys and regret the scent fading from a murdered son's T-shirts. Some dread the holidays.