FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Remembering her brother, Duane Brown, Terri Left Hand Bull said she has to be strong and present for him in court.
"He was just a happy guy. It's too bad," Left Hand Bull said.
Brown was killed on July 21 at a Fort Collins gas station when police said Saman Zare stabbed him in the chest. Investigators said Zare is homeless and was getting aluminum cans out of the trash at a gas pump when he started arguing Brown who was standing nearby.
"I think the hardest part for me, I was literally gonna buy Duane a bus ticket home," Left Hand Bull said.
She and Brown are from South Dakota and are members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Left Hand Bull said Brown is a lifelong Denver Broncos fan who moved to Colorado as part of his travels across the country.
"To hear of such a bad thing happening to a good person, it hits you in different ways," Left Hand Bull said.
She said her brother loved music and loved to help people.
"Always a happy guy," Left Hand Bull said. "Every place we’ve gone to since this has happened. Everyone we talk to say he was polite. He was happy."
Zare had a preliminary hearing Friday afternoon. It lasted more than three hours. At the hearing, his defense attorney suggested the stabbing was done in self-defense. Left Hand Bull said she's a spectator in court to make a statement for her brother.
"It’s important to be here and stand in his name, in his honor. It’s one of those things that you know we are the only faces that represent him now," Left Hand Bull said.
The incident was captured on surveillance video which Left Hand Bull said she felt compelled to watch even though it was difficult.
"I personally wanted to see it so I could start working on closing that door," Left Hand Bull said.
Brown is one of ten siblings. Left Hand Bull and their brother Richard Good Face attended the preliminary hearing to send Zare a message.
"We want justice. We want to make sure that he doesn't try and play the system and try and get away with anything," Left Hand Bull said. "We want him to know that we're here and and we are gonna keep being here."
Zare is due back in court in January. Left Hand Bull said she will make the drive from South Dakota once again.
"He was loved and we’re here and I’ll drive another 12 hours tomorrow if I have to come to another hearing," Left Hand Bull said. "I’ll be here."
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