No one could think of a better way to remember 9-year old Skyler Kauffman than to renovate a park in her name. But what started out as an uplifting community project quickly became a heated dispute.
Skyler Kauffman was raped and killed in a Souderton community playground last May. A 24-year-old male, James Lee Troutman, has been charged with her murder. The neighborhood wanted to rename the park in honor of the innocent little girl.
The non-profit organization Project Safe Playground had already collected over $1,500 in donations but ended up losing their non-profit status. Shortly After, Skyler’s mother, Heather Gebhard, posted on Facebook that any other contributions should be sent directly to her.
Skyler's paternal grandmother, Carol Kauffman, opposed Heather's efforts however. She also posted that she questions how Heather has managed the money that has been raised so far.
The Inquirer also reports that Kauffman questioned whether Gebhard's lack of supervision for Skyler may have led to her death, leading to a heated dispute that scared off many potential fund raisers.
Gebhard later threatened to sue if the Safe Playground group continued to use Skyler's name to raise money.
"It's not right," said Jenna Mason of Quakertown, Pa. "If you're going to raise money to fix up a park in her honor that's just great enough! There shouldn't be any squabble over where the money goes to!"
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As of now, officials say that all money raised would be returned to the donors who supplied their names, according to the Inquirer. The rest will be given to a fund for therapeutic tricycles for disabled kids.
Project Safe Playground vows to return all of the money raised and a group of citizens pledge to make the memorial a reality in the near future.
