Community Corner
On His 22nd Birthday, Demitri Hampton's Family Remembers
A memorial service will be held at Suffolk County Community College to celebrate his life.
On the day that her baby brother would have turned 22, Jennifer Nicole Davis has only memories.
Davis is hosting a memorial service for her brother Demitri Hampton, who was killed in a brutal home invasion in January, on Friday, his birthday, at Suffolk Community College at noon.
"If you want to come and show your love, all are welcome," she said before the service.
A bench was dedicated in his name at the memorial.
The first birthday without her brother is not easy, Davis said. ""We're very sad today. We miss him."
She and her family are able to go on, she said, by thinking about "all the good times and great memories we all had together."
After Hampton, then 21, was shot and killed by armed intruders at his Flanders home, his broken-hearted family was left searching for answers.
"They took my little brother for no reason," Davis said. "They took my little baby from me."
Describing him after his death, Davis could barely speak through her tears. "He was a character," she said. "He made everyone laugh. He just always wanted to laugh and joke and play. He was a good kid."
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Hampton, she said, had graduated from Riverhead High School and was attending Suffolk County Community College.
While in high school, Hampton, who liked sports, played basketball with the Blue Waves and also enjoyed football, she said.
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"He was just an all-around good kid," she said. "He was a goofball."
Taking care of him when he was younger, Davis said she made sure he was ready for school each day.
"We used to play with little toy cars," she said; Davis also remembered laughter-filled holidays spent singing karaoke with her brother.
Hampton, she said, adored his family, including his older brother Jamal and little cousin Tisha.
"He liked to hang out with his friends," she said. "He had a lot going for him."
Reflecting on how her brother died, Davis said she was filled with anger.
Her mother, Davis said, is overwhelmed with grief over the loss of her youngest child.
The future, Davis said, was irrevocably altered when her brother lost his life.
"I have a 16-month-old son and he won’t ever get to play with his uncle," she said, sobbing. "I have a niece -- she loved her uncle. It's going to be hard. They took our baby from us."
Her baby brother, Davis said, "had a lot of people that loved him. "They took away a good kid. It will never be the same."
During the months after Hampton was killed his family created the "DQH Memorial Scholarship Fund," to help other bright young students, like Hampton, continue their educations.Faith, Davis said, has carried them through the dark days. "We're very religious; we're Christian," she said. "This is something we just have to deal with. I try to stay focused. I have a child and I'm focused on my son and my family, my friends and my work. But I definitely miss my brother. I miss him every day."
His family, Davis said, wants to keep the flame of her brother's memory burning bright -- and the memories of his life alive. "I don't want Demitri to be a victim," she said. "I want to keep his legacy alive -- he was a hero."
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