COLUMBUS, Ohio — Friends and loved ones gathered at Goodale Park on Wednesday to remember the life of a man who was killed in Bexley just over two weeks ago.
For those two weeks, it hasn’t been easy for those who loved Jordan Brown.
"Jordan was just, the life for so many of us,” said one of his friends.
On Wednesday, many of the people he called friends and family met at Goodale Park for a candlelight vigil in honor of him.
"Jordan would've wanted like all of us to have happy memories of him, and to remember how wonderful he was,” said Erde Rudolph, one of Brown's close friends.
Several people spoke to the crowd about the memories and good times they shared with Brown.
"You take it moment by moment. Realize that what he would’ve wanted is for us to keep going,” said Rudolph.
On March 28, Stewart Dreier, Brown’s boyfriend, admitted to killing him to Bexley Police. It was the city’s first murder since 2014.
According to court documents, Bexley police responded to a call on the 2900 block of E. Broad Street. Police say someone reported a “strange dog” in their vehicle.
Once officers got there, they learned Dreier put the dog in the caller’s vehicle.
Dreier told police he had killed a man inside a nearby apartment, and that he “wanted officers to see.”
On Wednesday, Dreier was arraigned in court and is being held on a $750,000 bond.
Police are still investigating why Brown was killed.
His friends and his loved ones don't want people to remember him for how he died, but for how he lived.
"People have been distant and I think a part of grieving is just being able to tell stories with each other and be there with each other,” said Shawn Mills, one of Brown’s close friends.