Concert held to remember Castro Valley girl murdered 20 years ago
CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (KGO) -- This year marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of a 14-year-old Castro Valley girl named Jenny Lin. Her parents turned their crushing grief over her loss, into a summer music program for young people to honor jenny and her love for music. Hundreds of those students will play in concert this Friday night, as their way of carrying on the memory of Jenny Lin.
Nearly 350 students are rehearsing for this year's concert, as part of the Jenny Lin Foundation's summer music program. The students all know this program was created to pay tribute to Jenny, who was an extremely talented musician.
Jenny's mother Mei-Lian Lin said, "They know Jenny was like them, at the same age, at the same school, playing a similar instrument."
Jenny's father John Lin said, "Her love of music was just so amazing. And losing her was something that I will never be able to comprehend."
Twenty years ago, Jenny was brutally murdered in her own home Palomares Hills in Castro Valley. Her killer has never been caught. The flyers are still out, asking for witnesses to come forward.
The tragic crime happened after school, between 5:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on Friday, May 27, 1994.
The Lins work closely with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, hoping for justice in their daughter's murder.
Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ken Gemmell said, "One of the current plans is to utilize social media to make sure that this case is publicized, that the community is aware of it and hopefully generate additional leads. We're going to be looking at this case with the most current technology available."
"There's still a $100,000 reward out there available for anyone who can provide information to help us solve this case," John said.
In the meantime, John and Mei-Lian get through each day, by providing music and safety awareness programs to help other children. They get a lot of support from the kids, the community and the Castro Valley Unified School District where jenny was a student. She would have been 34 this year.
"We get a lot of joy working with these young kids and thinking we're extending Jenny's life in such a fashion," Mei Lian said.
ABC7 News anchor Cheryl Jennings will emcee the free Jenny Lin Concert on Friday night.
Event Info:
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, 7:30 p.m.
Chabot College
Performing Arts Center
25555 Hesperian Blvd.
Hayward, CA 94545
Cost: Free
The Jenny Lin Foundation was set up in Jenny's memory to provide summer music camps and child safety awareness programs.
If you have any tips on this case, you can contact the Alameda County Sheriff's Office via their Facebook page.
Public tipline to report any information on Jenny's case: 510-667-7721
