A close friend of the mother killed in LaSalle is inconsolable because she believes the murder could have been avoided if the family had finally gotten the help they needed.
• Also read: LaSalle: man charged with second-degree murder of mother
“She was abandoned. His son was abandoned. They had no help,” confides Dana Squires, before bursting into tears. According to her, the victim, Lisa Marie Rytar, had tried several times to help her child, in vain.
She met Lisa Marie Rytar in high school, but the two became friends as adults. For several years, they were neighbors in the LaSalle borough.
The victim, Lisa Marie Rytar
Photo taken from Lisa Rytar’s Facebook account
Dana Squires heard through the walls of her home the arguments between mother and son. Disputes which terrorized some residents of the neighborhood.
She told the Journal that her longtime friend repeatedly tried to help her only son, Tyrell Rytar. He is now accused of killing his mother.
She tried everything
The victim notably tried to send her son to a detoxification center, according to Mme Squires. The young man was “a good boy”, but he also had substance abuse and mental health problems, she said.
-“She asked the doctors for help. She called the police because she didn’t know what to do. She no longer knew where to turn. She tried everything,” reports Mme Squires.
“She tried to help him in so many ways,” laments Christopher, a family friend who asked to remain anonymous. He constantly worried about Lisa Marie Rytar’s safety. “But she had so much love for her son,” he adds.
Dana Squires describes her late friend as a funny person who was always trying to speak out against injustices, for example at work or in her life in general. “She was a magnificent person,” she said, saddened.
“Life was not easy for both of them. But, I never thought it could have escalated so much,” she adds.
Above all, the lady has the impression that the murder of her friend could have been avoided, if the family had had the necessary support.
“The government talks to us about mental health, but when people really need help, we turn our backs on them. It’s frustrating,” she complains.
