Second memorial to slain girl stolen

Thursday, Nov. 23, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

Two days after a 4-foot wooden cross was erected along U.S. 50 just west of here in remembrance of the 9-year-old girl who was murdered in March, the memorial was ripped out of the ground and stolen.

"I'm shocked," said Sonya Klempner, Krystal's 26-year-old sister. "I don't know what's going on anymore. Life is just crazy."

The painted redwood cross was set in concrete Saturday about 15 feet behind a guard rail alongside U.S. 50 near the spot where Thomas Soria Jr. admitted to dropping the body of the girl the night she was murdered.

He has pleaded guilty and faces life in prison. He also is scheduled to testify against his father, Thomas Soria Sr., who goes on trial in January for kidnap, rape and murder.

The initial memorial to Krystal erected in the first days following her death - a cross surrounded by a mound of stuffed animals - was removed at the end of October. It was at the edge of a highway turnout about two miles west of Carson City in the path of snow plows.

The Nevada Department of Transportation removed the items as a safety precaution, evoking criticism after they were inadvertently discarded.

After reading about the lost memorial, a member of the Reno Chapter of Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club, who goes by the single name of Packer, decided to craft a new memorial.

With wood and an engraved plaque donated by local businessmen, he spent five hours building the cross, the Tahoe Daily Tribune reported on Wednesday.

"I learned of it when a plow operator called up one of my buddies. I'm thoroughly upset," he said. "It looks like someone just lifted it out before the cement set."

Transportation department spokesman Scott Magruder said workers noticed the cross had disappeared. "We did not remove that cross," he said. "We're not sure what happened to it."

Packer plans to pour about a yard of concrete in the same spot to secure a cross cut from metal.

"It's personal now. The cross is going to be there," he said. "Not only is this a slap to little Krystal, but it's a slap in the face to all of us."