From Deseret News archives:
Quinn's husband hopes to turn his grief into a force for good
"The one thing is, when you get up in the morning and you leave your loved one, for some reason, she gave me a really passionate kiss that morning," Rich Quinn said. "I don't know why, but I'm glad she did."
Quinn reflected Wednesday on his wife's horrific death Monday evening. He was meeting her to finally buy her a wedding band that night, when the shooting rampage began.
"We got married four years ago. We didn't have money. We never wore wedding rings. I was meeting her there to buy a wedding ring," he said, sobbing. "I called and told her to come. ... "
Salt Lake City police believe Vanessa Quinn, 29, was gunned down by 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic as she walked by the Williams-Sonoma store inside the mall.
"I saw a guy stop. He turned, there was a girl standing in front of our store, and he shot her," Marie Smith, a clerk at Bath and Body Works said Monday night.
When the shooting started, Rich Quinn was hurried out of the mall and couldn't find his wife in the panicked crowds.
He returned to their home, but when time passed with no word, he and his friends went back to Trolley Square.
"I asked the police for information. They didn't give me any," he said.
His brother had seen photographs of a body inside the Trolley Square mall on the Internet. Quinn said he walked over to a news photographer, asked to look through his lens and saw his wife.
"I knew instantly it was her, even though you couldn't see her face," he said. "The clothes, the way her shirt was pulled up. I knew it was her."
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he offered his thanks to Ken Hammond, the off-duty Ogden police officer who got into a shootout with Talovic. Surrounded by family and friends, Quinn also offered condolences to the other victims' families.
"We send our condolences to the other families because we know what they're going through," said Rich Quinn's brother, Ed.
Rich met Vanessa in Ohio in 1999. They shared their first kiss on a New Year's Eve. Family members described her as an adventurous woman and a skilled soccer player. In 2001, Rich Quinn said they moved to Utah, and she got a job at at Overstock.com.
Comments
- Aggie women beat Montana Tech 12:35 a.m.
- QB Borel receives USU honor 12:33 a.m.
- Dixie St. campus briefs 12:30 a.m.
- BYU campus briefs 12:28 a.m.
- CFL legend prefers sacrament to slotback 12:27 a.m.
- 10 tips for the picky eater 12:26 a.m.
- A psychologist's thoughts on Ft. Hood 12:26 a.m.
- Slaughter of the innocents 12:26 a.m.
- Back Bench: Dealing with infertility 12:26 a.m.
- Today in the Bloggernacle 12:25 a.m.
- TCU showdown has big implications
- Seniors helped BYU regroup
- Lambert surprisingly tops news
- Hope for single moms
- Bystanders framed for child porn
- Korver and Miles to be evaluated
- Soccer MVPs know how to win
- Utah Jazz Extra: Whose hot/not
- GOP blasts Matheson after vote
- Newhouse Hotel, an explosive end
- House passes health care bill
228 - TCU showdown has big implications
183 - Lobo suspended
182 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
154 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
118 - Thousands protest health bill
114 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
97 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
Why do so many people live so close to refineries in Utah and elsewhere?
Sounds like a good option if you can't or won't switch to AT&T for the...
I worked with and around Bill Sederburg for 5 years while he was at...
hand. He needs to work on his moves to the basket and rebounding. Lateral...
play Fez or Koufos tonight. He went with a smaller line up and Boozer, Okur...
I've met Bennett before and he is a nice man. He also knows the Constitution...
That's never been a secret. Everyone will pay for it except those that don't...
I agree with NonMormon. I am active LDS, and I enjoy Ash's articles, and I...
I kept saying don't resign Milsap, especially after Portland offered that...
BYU is the slowest team that has ever been in the top 25. Utah will put up a...
i think u have the cowboys ranked too low! at least an A- LOL nice work!



You can be the first to comment on this story.