Blood Oath Murder

On Saturday, January 10, 2010, approximately 80 relatives, friends, acquaintances and coworkers of Sherry Harlan held a candlelight vigil at the Alderwood JCPenney store where Sherry had worked since 2007.

"She had a wonderful, wonderful laugh," a relative said. "Once you got her started, it became infectious."

Many of those present shared fond memories they had of the slain woman, and at times the vigil seemed like a true celebration of Sherry's life. It was apparent that she was greatly missed by many people.

"Every day we worked together we'd try to see who we could shock with our laughs, snorting and honking and other strange noises," recalled a coworker.

"She had the curliest hair," said another coworker. "She lit up the room, she lit up the area, and she lit up my job."

"She was always there for me, every day I came to work," said yet another friend and coworker.

"Sherry loved life," said her mother, Cheryl Thomas. "She was happy-go-lucky. She loved shopping, and in particular for clothes. Her eyes always sparkled when she was happy. She really enjoyed her coworkers at JCPenney, and being with her friends."