Residents of Independence Towers processing death of boy who fell from 8-story window

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) – Debra Allee set a lawn chair in the grass across the street from the apartment complex where she’s lived for 10 years. A vigil was set to start in 15 minutes. Only two people were there.

“We just wanted to get people together, just the little boy,” she said. “We couldn’t do anything at the Towers. The management didn’t want us to, so we just came across the street here.”

Her tone was matter-of-fact, not accusatory, just as it was when she wondered if the reason more people weren’t there was only one of the two elevators working.

She and another woman who’s lived there for 16 years tied a white letter “T” to a utility pole with a satin ribbon. The boy’s name was Titus.

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The other woman, who gave her name only as Dee, lives on the same floor as the boy’s family. She heard Titus’ mother screaming after he fell Monday morning.

“I heard her screaming and then I heard the words ‘out the window’ and I knew what she was talking about, because nothing makes that sound like a mother,” Dee said.

All week, she’s been picturing what happened. She didn’t actually see it. But she can see it in her mind.

“I can visualize,” Dee said. “They were throwing toys out the window. And I imagine that he just looked out the window to see his toys.”

By the time Allee ed out candles, there were about 25 people gathered. Most were residents. Several said they had met Titus’ parents and knew they had children but few recalled seeing the children. Allee ed watching the whole family in the parking lot throwing a Nerf football. It made her smile.

READ MORE: Independence Towers residents say blame is shared in toddler’s death

Allee’s pastor provided words of comfort and emphasized that the moment Friday night was one to think not about who is to blame, but honor Titus.

“Why it happened doesn’t matter, but there are reasons why it happened,” Dee said. “That it happened, there aren’t any words really. No words.”

Allee said people at the complex have been down. She hoped the brief vigil made them feel a little better.

“It was starting to feel a little bleak,” Dee said. “We started our little memorial and people took things from it, rather than added things to it. So that was kind of sad.”

She had little Mylar balloons on sticks that she added throughout the week. The dinosaur was gone. She replaced it with a unicorn. She says neighborhood kids are taking them.

Now, at least she knows it’s not because people don’t care.

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