Family and friends light up Philadelphia to honor Temple graduate two years after being murdered
Nearly two years after 23-year-old Temple University graduate Everett Beauregard was shot and killed while walking home, his family and friends gathered in Philadelphia's Powelton Village section on Saturday.
Beauregard was returning to his Spring Garden Street apartment on September 22, 2022, when he was fatally shot in what police described as an unprovoked attack. Surveillance footage shows a man walking past Beauregard before turning around and shooting him.
Beauregard was murdered just months after graduating from Temple University with a degree in political science. To this day, no suspect has been identified, leaving his parents, Leslie and Eric, grappling with the uncertainty surrounding their son's murder.
"It's one of those things where it seems like it's been forever, but just like yesterday," Everett's father, Eric Beauregard, said.
At the remembrance ceremony, Beauregard's parents and friends placed lanterns along the sidewalk near his former apartment as a tribute.
"He was brilliant and funny and loved his friends and loved his city," Everett's mother, Leslie Beauregard said.
Close friend Rachel McQuiston also attended the ceremony.
"We were inseparable and so close," McQuiston said. "He was perfectly at the intersection of thoughtfulness, intelligence, and humor."
About 20 of Beauregard's friends joined his family at the remembrance, sharing memories.
"You made the end of his life as happy as it possibly could have been," Eric Beauregard told the group.
As night fell, the group lit lanterns along the path Beauregard walked home that night, in his honor.
"We're here just to mark the path, mark that it's been two years," Leslie said. "Make note that no one's been caught. And just symbolically demonstrate that everyone deserves to get home… to turn that corner and make it safely home."
Leslie and Eric Beauregard have established a foundation in Everett's name to support organizations that serve at-risk youth. The Everett Beauregard Foundation is a nonprofit that aims "to disrupt the cycle of violence devastating families by helping vulnerable teens choose a more hopeful path of opportunity, belonging and purpose," according to the foundation's website.
In October, the month Everett would have turned 26, the foundation will make a donation to the Charles Durham Library, in honor of Everett's love of reading.