Preston Lord vigil marks 3 years since fatal Queen Creek beating

QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. - Community members gathered to "Light the Night" in honor of Queen Creek teen Preston Lord. Wednesday night marked three years since Lord was severely beaten at a Halloween party in a Queen Creek neighborhood.

What they're saying:

Preston Lord’s family said gathering on the anniversary of the attack is another way they can honor his life and legacy, as well as the larger movement for change now associated with his name.

"The tragedy’s just as real today as it was three years ago, for us," said Melissa Ciconte, Preston Lord’s stepmother.

Remembering Preston Lord:

As the orange Arizona sunset turned to dark sky on the evening of Oct. 28, orange light continued to glow in a Queen Creek neighborhood during a Light the Night vigil for Lord.

The late teen's family said turnout at the vigil means the world to them.

"It’s testament to the fact that teen violence is still prevalent, and the community cares about it," Ciconte said.

Big picture view:

Present at the vigil were the families of Jeremiah Aviles and Daniel Sublasky, two other victims of teen violence in Queen Creek.

"The commonality is that we’ve lost children and that’s a different kind of grief. I met Roy (Sablusky) at the vigil last year, and he came up to me holding a picture of his son and I said ‘What are you doing here?’ and he said ‘ and he said ‘My son got killed, and I don’t know what to do, where to go, I’m just, I’m here’. I’ve been to court with Olga (Jeremiah’s mother) several times, she’s a single mom, she’s very strong but still very broken," Ciconte said.

Fighting For Justice:

Meanwhile, the Lord family waits for justice to be served for several of the young men accused in Preston’s death.

"Navigating the court system is very hard, and it’s always a moving target and when you think something’s coming up, and you’re going to start going to trial or start making progress, something changes, and so we just try to roll with the punches," Ciconte said.

Dig deeper:

While the Lord family continues to fight for justice in court, they also continue to advocate for teen violence prevention education in schools and in every household.