Victims advocate dies at 86
Fife was waiting for son's killer to be executed
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CORTLAND – Trumbull County victims advocate Miriam Fife, who lost her young son, Raymond, in 1985, gave much of her time helping and counseling thousands of crime victims and their families.
Fife died Saturday at age 86. She spent a lot of her adult life as a victims advocate for the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office after her 12-year-old son, Raymond, was brutally murdered in September of 1985 in Warren.
Fife accompanied victims and their family members to court and advocated for victims' rights in Columbus. She was actively involved with Parents of Murdered Children, the Ohio Attorney General's Victims Conference and victims' rights legislation.
Warren Councilman Mike O’Brien said he has known Fife since he worked at the Trumbull County Juvenile Justice Center in the 1980s.
“I have known Miriam very well and through her victim advocacy work at the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office. She was a wonderful person who has been a voice for the voiceless. She was an advocate not just for victims and the families of murdered children, but for everything and was active in so many ways helping others in the community,” O’Brien said.
He said he remembers the Raymond Fife murder and when he first met Miriam Fife. O’Brien said he admired her for what she has done to reach out and help others, and he was saddened to hear of Fife’s death.
Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins said he has always admired Fife for her advocacy.
Fife worked as a victims advocate under Watkins, who hired her in 1989. She worked for 25 years, retiring in 2014. Her dedication earned her a service plaque in 2015 in recognition of her extraordinary commitment to victims of crime.
Raymond was killed by Danny Lee Hill and Timothy Combs as he was going to a Boy Scout meeting in Warren. The two were convicted of the murder. Combs was given a life sentence for the crime since he was 17 when it happened and was not eligible for the death penalty. Hill, then 18, was sentenced to death. Combs died in prison in November 2018 at age 50.
Hill has filed more than 30 appeals in his case. The Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled that Hill’s sentencing was proper. He is scheduled for execution in July 2029, but there is an unofficial moratorium on Ohio’s death penalty because of the unavailability of lethal injection drugs.
In a statement, Watkins said he was saddened to learn from Fife's family on Saturday she passed away.
Members of the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office joined him in mourning the loss of Fife, “who suffered the unimaginable tragedy of losing her 12-year-old son,” the statement reads.
Watkins said after enduring 40 years of appeals and strategies by Hill to evade the death chamber, Fife will not live to see justice served for one of Raymond's convicted murderers.
“A tireless advocate for victims of crime, Miriam devoted much of her life to helping other families through the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office Victim-Witness Division,” Watkins said.
Watkins, who worked alongside Fife for decades to see justice served, paid tribute to her courage, dignity and unwavering commitment to others.
“Miriam was truly a larger-than-life person who will live on in our memories because of her deeds. She was firm, fair and always there for people. She made the world a better place for victims,” Watkins said.
Following Raymond's death, Fife began volunteering in the prosecutor's office before Watkins hired her and Mary Jo Hoso to help strengthen Trumbull County's Victim-Witness Division, which was one of the first such units in Ohio.
Watkins said throughout her career, Fife continued to advocate for victims, while remaining steadfast in her pursuit of justice for Raymond.
Accompanied by her husband Ike, until his death, she attended nearly every legal proceeding and challenge pursued by her son's killer.
Watkins also noted that Miriam's daughter, Paula Lazzari, promised her that she would “carry the torch” for her in continuing the efforts "to see justice done and the law enforced" for her younger brother, Raymond.
Trumbull County First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker said, “Miriam was a shining example of what a person can do and can become after suffering a personal tragedy. She was able to channel her rief to help others who suffered similar tragedies. She was always positive, caring and loving to the hundreds of victims she helped. I'm sure she was given VIP entry into Heaven."
Appellate Chief and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Charles L. Morrow, who is handling the opposition to Hill's latest appeal, remembered Fife's compassion for families who also suffered similarly at the hands of cold-blooded murderers. Morrow said he also recalled "Miriam's ever-positive attitude, endearing smile and keen sense of humor. Drawing on her own painful experiences, Miriam offered comfort and support to other families, while advocating for justice for their loved ones."
Watkins said Fife's life was defined not only by the profound tragedy she endured, but by the compassion, strength and determination with which she turned that tragedy into a lifetime of service to others.
“Although she did not live to see the final resolution of the case involving her son's murder, her unwavering commitment to victims and the pursuit of justice leaves a lasting legacy in Trumbull County,” he said.
On her social media site, Lazzari said about her mother, “She will be remembered as a tireless advocate, a devoted mother and grandmother, and a woman whose heart for others never wavered. She loved to tell stories, go to any sporting event, concert, or celebration for her children or grandchildren, and she enjoyed all animals. She was fiercely loyal, honest, and compassionate for others, which made her such a good friend and ally. We will miss her bright smile and laugh daily and know her heart is happy being reunited with my dad, Raymond and her other friends and family that passed before.”