Memorial for SLO County man killed in alleged hate crime is gone. What happened?
When Melody Pinion’s son, Todd, was killed last fall, one thing that helped her find solace was his memorial.
Placed near where his body was found on Highway 101 and Tassajara Creek Road, the memorial was a rainbow cross made of her son’s walking sticks and ribbons. Loved ones placed painted rocks at its base. The artist, Jennifer Del Rio, incorporated paint found inside Todd’s car and items like peacock feathers to make dreamcatchers because that was one of his favorite hobbies.
But as of Saturday, everything was gone.
“I felt like I lost my son all over again,” Melody Pinion told The Tribune on Monday. “I feel lost again.”
Todd Pinion went missing on Oct. 30, 2024, and his body was found around a week later on Nov. 3, 2024, near Tassajara Creek.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office charged 21-year-old Tyler Stevens with Todd’s murder, alleging Stevens killed Todd in a hate crime because Todd was gay. Todd’s dog, Spock, was also found dead at the bottom of the Cuesta Grade. Stevens’ next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 1.
”I know that Todd would be telling me, “Mom, it’s only materialistic things. Don’t let it bother you,’” Melody Pinion said. “But I’m trying to honor my son, and it just tears me apart that someone could do that and remove that.”
Longtime family friend Kristi Myrick told The Tribune she last saw the memorial on Nov. 17.
When she drove by it again on Friday, however, she noticed the memorial was missing. When a friend went to the memorial on Saturday to check whether it had fallen over, she said, everything was gone.
The only evidence of the memorial was a small concrete hole that helped secure the cross in place.
Its disappearance raises questions for the Pinion family and friends.
“Who would want to do this?” Myrick said. “I’ve never heard a person say a negative thing about Todd, which is pretty incredible when you think about that.”
Myrick said her first thoughts when she noticed it was missing were that perhaps someone tied to Todd’s alleged killer or a “homophobic person” had been involved in removing the memorial.
“Why can’t everybody be kind and loving, and what’s wrong with having that memorial for him there?” she said.
Myrick continued: “It just creates more mystery around this already horrific situation the family doesn’t need right now.”
What happened to roadside memorial?
The memorial was erected Dec. 17, 2024.
It stood around 4 feet tall and was placed at the start of Tassajara Creek Road, near a real estate sign that still remains today.
When reached for comment on the memorial’s disappearance, the California Highway Patrol told The Tribune it was not familiar with it and that Caltrans is responsible for maintenance in the area.
Caltrans confirmed to The Tribune that it did not remove the memorial.
A request for comment from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office was not immediately returned as of Monday afternoon.
In the meantime, Myrick and Melody Pinion both said they are in contact with Caltrans and plan to put up another memorial to honor Todd’s life.
“I don’t know how to explain it, I felt like it secured the location — it secured him and I felt like I was making him safe,” she said. “Then (the memorial) being removed and being gone, I feel like I’m trying to find my son all over again.”
