Syndi Sue Bierman, of Kansas City, Kansas, was a 5′ 3″ blonde-haired, blue-eyed, 17-year-old bundle of energy with a smile that could light up the room. As a young child, Syndi was always busy with something – dance lessons, competitive swimming, diving, softball, reading, piano lessons, and playing the trumpet and flute. When she was in junior high school, Syndi played in the band, played basketball and volleyball, and was a cheerleader. In high school, she was yearbook photographer, played softball and volleyball, and was on the drill team. Syndi was an honor roll student who had been admitted to KU, and was looking forward to college and everything that goes with it. Throughout her life, she was an active member of our church. She participated in Sunday School, the puppet ministry, served as an acolyte, and was a Sunday school teacher for a short time. Syndi didn’t always agree with us and was sometimes a little snippy, but she had a conscience that enabled her to care about others’ opinions and seek forgiveness when she needed it. We have many wonderful memories of Syndi, including her beautiful smile, her care and concern for others, her love of family and the positive way in which she touched many lives. We wish you could have known her.

On Saturday evening, February 19, 1989, Syndi Sue Bierman of Kansas City, Kansas had returned home from work around 8:30 pm and had invited two of her girlfriends over to watch a video with her. Syndi’s sister, Shari, and her two children were living in a basement apartment in our home.

While Syndi and her two friends were watching television, Shari and two male acquaintances came to Shari’s apartment. One of the boys called upstairs and, according to the girls, made sexual remarks to Syndi on the telephone. Shari came upstairs a few times asking if Syndi’s friends were spending the night and asked what time they were leaving. Shari and her male friends then left. Around 11:15 pm, one of Syndi’s friends left and the other left a short time later after declining Syndi’s invitation to spend the night because she had church plans with her family early the next day.

From what we can piece together, Syndi was either in bed or getting ready for bed when her sister Shari and the two males returned. We’ve heard two stories of what then transpired, but will probably never know for sure. One story is that Shari and her two male friends planned to kill my husband and me for insurance money. The other is that they planned to rob the house and Syndi woke up and foiled the plan. Whatever the case, they severely beat and stabbed Syndi to death. They then left the house thinking that my husband and I would return and find Syndi; however, Shari came back before we returned and called 911 to report that our house had been robbed. We arrived home to find the house swarming with police officers and the news that our daughter Syndi had been murdered.

Our daughter Shari Bierman and her two friends, Conrad Joseph Hernandez and Archie E. “A.J.” Owens were all convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.