GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Loved ones gathered on Halloween night for a candlelight vigil to remember Antonio Kiehla week after police said he was murdered in Grand Forks.

The Grand Forks Police Department says that on the night of October 24, the 49-year-old man was murdered after an altercation with two men at their apartment, a place the family described as Tony’s “happy place.”

“When he was happy, he felt safe and when people weren’t harassing him, this is where he would like to sit. Right now, I still don’t have enough strength to go to his apartment,” said Lori Ann Garcia, Tony’s sister.

Police say he was beaten to death and found with multiple knife wounds to his neck, chest and abdomen.

Two men, Donald Joseph Bartlette and Nicholas Wride-Arnold, have since been charged for their connections to her death.

On the cold Halloween night, family and friends gathered with candles and a ‘Justice 4 Tony’ sign to celebrate his life.

At the vigil, his nephew said, “My favorite memories with him are seeing Tony anywhere, and he would always come up to me and say, ‘I love you, nephew!’ “I will never see that again.”

With emotions running high, they still raised an important message during the vigil.

“Violence has no place in our community! “We are no strangers to murders here in Grand Forks,” his sister said.

She also expressed her thoughts on compensation related to violent crimes of the State, stating it is generally not enough.

The county pays for Tony’s cremation, but nothing else. She says she is struggling to pay all other funeral-type expenses.

“You know, when you experience something like this, you’re not prepared for it. Where do you think I can get the money from? I don’t have savings, so how can I get a refund for the money I don’t have? she asked.

He hopes to have a formal service soon.

“My brother was murdered. I mean, come on. I miss him.”

The two men accused of Tony’s death face life in prison without parole if convicted, but Lori says there is no amount of time that can bring her brother back.

They are due back in court on December 9, 2024.

Copyright 2024 KVLY. All rights reserved.