Linda Patton doesn’t try to hide from the pain of her sister’s murder. She says there’s no point in trying to forget what happened almost 19 years ago.

“I don’t worry about bringing up bad memories,” Ms. Patton said, “because you always have those memories.”

Ms. Patton will speak Monday afternoon at an event for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. The public is invited to attend the events to celebrate victims rights and to remember those who have been a victim of crime. The events are as follows:

3 p.m. Monday — A victim speaker, LeBlond High School Choir and balloon release, at Crime Victims’ Memorial and Meditation Grove in the Mark Youngdahl Urban Conservation Area (next to Hillyard Technical School).

7 p.m. Tuesday — Candlelight vigil with speech by Buchanan County Circuit Judge Dan Kellogg, inside Wyatt Park Christian Church, 2632 Mitchell Ave.

7:30 to 9 a.m. Friday — Victims Breakfast, including victim speaker, awards to local community volunteers and information on the Victims of Crime Act, at Moila Shrine Temple Ballroom, 701 N. Noyes Blvd. The breakfast is open to the public at a cost of $11 per person. RSVP to Joelle at (816) 271-1480.

“The importance of the week is really to remember the victims that we’ve lost and to recognize the family members that are still with us,” said Morgan Hansen, a victim advocate for domestic violence cases in the Buchanan County Prosecutor’s Office, which is helping organize the events.

Ms. Patton’s sister, Crystal Simmons, went missing from St. Joseph in October 1990. She was later discovered in a grave in Kansas along with other victims of Marvin Irvin, who later pleaded guilty to the killings.

Ms. Patton said she’s speaking to remember her sister and to help people understand the pain of crime.

“It could happen to anybody,” Ms. Patton said. “You never know.”

Joe Blumberg can be reached

at joeblumberg@npgco.com.