Meeting in the Midst of Grief

Denver – At a recent Crimcon conference, Kristen Mittelman, a leading figure at the forensics company Othram, reminisced about her chance encounter with Stacy Chapin two years ago in Orlando. Chapin, still grappling with the loss of her son Ethan, felt out of place at the event, which occurred just ten months after his tragic passing.

“Honestly, I’m not sure why I even went,” Chapin admitted during this year’s conference in Denver. She was somewhat hesitant that year but accepted an invitation to meet others who had lost children to violent crime. The thought of being in that room was overwhelming for her.

“What am I even doing here?” she questioned herself at the time.

Unexpected Connections

During the gathering, the families shared their stories, and at the end, Mittelman surprised Chapin. Although they were strangers then, Mittelman approached her, offering a comforting hug and whispered reassurance, saying, “Everything will be alright.”

Mittelman later reflected, “Did I really need to step back and appreciate the impact of what I said?” Chapin didn’t know much about her at the time, but Mittelman’s words lingered in her thoughts.

Moving Forward Together

As the years passed, their paths crossed again under unsettling circumstances. Once a gag order lifted, Mittelman reached out to Chapin to discuss the significant DNA evidence that had linked a suspect to the case. This became a pivotal moment in their journey. Mittelman remarked on how amazing it felt to finally speak with someone who represented the very reason she founded Othram with her husband.

“When the gag order was lifted, my first call was to Stacey’s family,” Mittelman emphasized. “I could see the pain in her eyes.” Chapin echoed that the phone call was no small matter for her.

Advocacy in Memory

In addition to navigating their personal losses, Chapin’s family turned their focus toward advocacy. They created a scholarship in Ethan’s memory through the Ethan’s Smile Foundation, aiming to draw attention to victims and their families.

Despite ongoing legal battles surrounding DNA evidence in the case against the accused killer, who eventually pled guilty to avoid the death penalty, Chapin and her family remained committed to ensuring that Ethan’s story—and those of other victims—would not be forgotten.