Slain Charlotte County Correctional officer Darla Lathrem remembered 20 years after death

Twenty years have passed since the killing of a Charlotte County correctional officer while in the line of duty, and her fellow correctional officers have vowed never to forget her sacrifice.

Darla Lathrem was murdered by prisoners trying to break out of Charlotte County Correctional Institution. Every year since that tragic day, her fellow corrections officers hold a memorial to honor Lathrem.

“We should never let a year go by where we don’t remember Darla and the sacrifice she made,” Warden Derek Snider said. “It’s a reminder to everybody how dangerous this career this is, but what a great career it is. We have family that come together to support her family but also support the men and women in uniform.”

Patricia Rollings, Lathrem’s oldest sister, prompted new safety measure following the death of her sister.

“At the time, there should have been some more regulations to protect her and there weren’t, but I’m sure that that’s changed now,” Rollings said.

“Unfortunately, because of this tragic happening, we’ve had to rethink how we do things and obviously we got better every day. We’re continuing to work on what we could do to make it safer for our men and women going through the gates,” Snider added.

Lathrem’s family, law enforcement and prison guards gathered to celebrate her life. Bagpipes were played and there was a presentation of colors, a moment of silence and invited people to speak during the ceremony.

Lathrem’s family has attended every memorial service.

“We think of her every day, but we have faith and we know we’ll see her one day,” Rolling’s said.

“We still miss her and it’s hard to get over because she was such a wonderful person. She was a light and a dark world sometimes. You know, she shouldn’t have been taken so young, you know?
It’s hard losing somebody that close to you,” Lathrem’s sister Carol Miller remarked.

Two of the three inmates involved in the murder died in prison. The third inmate is still on death row.
The Lathrem family told WINK they won’t feel justice has been served until he finally dies.