In 1977, three young men in Columbia, South Carolina came across two schoolmates enjoying their Saturday afternoon at a local park. In a random act of unspeakable violence, those men shot and killed the boy in the car, Tommy Taylor, after which they proceeded to kidnap, gang rape, and murder Carlotta Hartness, who was just fourteen years old.

The horrific violence and loss shook South Carolina and the nation.. But it did worse than that to Carlotta’s family, the Hartnesses. Carlotta was the youngest of three children, and left behind her an older brother and an older sister, Sherrerd, in addition to her mother and father. Sherrerd’s parents descended into their grief, and Sherrerd herself began a journey of isolation and disconnect that followed her for decades.

Nearly fifty years after that dark day in 1977, though, Sherrerd today is committed to using her voice to educate, to advocate, and to heal. She speaks to the experience of surviving family members, friends, and other co-victims of murder.

Sherrerd is passionate about educating the broader population about grief and grief support, knowing all too well that the random violence visited upon her family could unfortunately happen to anyone.

By working tirelessly to promote healthy sharing and healing for victims and co-victims while also working to de-stigmatize their loss and pain, Sherrerd pursues daily her vision for a brighter future in which as few people as possible have to face what she has lived with for nearly fifty years.