Family of Oil City Homicide Victim Raises $20,000 for Security Cameras
Following the rape and homicide of Marcy Suzette Nellis, an Oil City woman who was killed along the Oil City Bike Trail in late March, her family fundraised about $20,000 for security cameras to be installed along the trail.
As of Friday evening, the family has raised $16,065 on their GoFundMe page, breaking their initial $10,000 goal. They have received additional funds from in-person donations, and mail-in donations.
They say they received donations from across the state, from those seeking to make Pennsylvania a little bit safer.
"We were shocked," said Amy Still, daughter of Nellis. "It was a great surprise. The community down there in Oil City and my community back home here in New Oxford, near Gettysburg; and people we don't even know just rallied and shared it and were generous and gave. And it was just... it was amazing."
Still says she hopes this project will make people feel safe to use the bike path once again.
"It was her time to be with nature," continued Still. "She would walk. She would say her prayers. She was head of the prayer chain at church. And we decided that since this tragedy, we wanted something good to come out of it. And we don't want anyone to not feel safe being down there. So we came up with the idea of trying to raise some money [for cameras]."
Oil City Police Chief Dave Ragon said over the phone that the donation will be a big help, as the city plans to install 16 to 17 cameras along the trail, costing around $2,000 each. This would equal a total of about $34,000.
Ragon says the project is still in the early planning stages, but they plan to work with Oil City Council, as well as the Nellis family, to do the project justice.
Still says her family plans to shut down the GoFundMe page soon after overwhelming support, but the page remains operational for now.
Those interested in donating can click here.
Still says any unused funds will go toward charities such as Meals on Wheels, Good Hope Lutheran Church, and other organizations Nellis was involved with.