No matter what the situation or who he was around, Richard Riley was true to his own spirit, his sister Synquetta Walker said, and that made him unique.
“This is something that I feel a lot of young men struggle with, because they’re trying to find out who they are or what they are or what type of person they’re going to be, but Richard always aspired to be himself,” Synquetta said.
Richard was seven years younger than Synquetta, and she doted on him as he grew up. She watched him go from being an active kid to becoming more mellow, explaining that he was more of an observer rather than someone who engaged in drama.
Their dynamic shifted as they got older, and Richard became the one to worry about Synquetta rather than the other way around.
“He would always check in with me and say, ‘Are you good? Are you cool?’ even though I’m the big sister,” she said. “You want to protect him, but he was more concerned about my well-being.”
And she feels he still checks in with her.
Richard was shot and killed Feb. 13, 2018 in the 200 block of West Grange Street in Olney. A few months later, Synquetta learned she was pregnant with a boy.
“Anyone who knows me knows what my brother meant to me. I was in a very dark place,” she said. “When you feel like you’ve reached rock bottom and then God blesses you with a life, and that life happens to be a boy. Without him being physically here, he continues to look out for me.”
Richard was born Jan. 16, 1997 in Philadelphia to his mother, Mary Felder. He was educated in the Philadelphia School District and graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 2016.
Richard did well in math, and he had dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. At the time of his death, he was a business administration major at the Community College of Philadelphia.
“He was very optimistic about doing his own thing,” Synquetta said. “He was looking to get his foot in the door.”
No arrests have been made in Richard’s murder. As his family mourns him, they also know that he would want them to keep moving forward.
“My mother is a very, very strong woman, and she amazes me every day because she’s able to still give unto others and she’s still optimistic and positive about life even though she had to bury her own child,” Synquetta said. “This can take the joy out of you and make you angry and hate things, but my mom refuses to do that. She refuses to be someone who lets the evil of others steal her happiness.”
Having her son, who is now 9 months old, has forced Synquetta to keep on living, but it’s also sparked some apprehension.
“It strikes fear within you, because I don’t want this to happen to my child,” Synquetta said. “It makes me feel like I have to love on my baby as much as I can because you never know what can happen.”
Synquetta wants her brother to be remembered “as a good person, someone that was humble, someone that was genuine in character, someone who deserves to have the same respect he gave to other people.”
Richard is laid to rest at Friends South Western Burial Ground.
A reward of up to $20,000 if available to anyone that comes forward with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Richard’s murder. Anonymous calls can be submitted by calling the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.
Date: 2018-02-13
Location: 200 W Grange St, Philadelphia, PA
