An emotional Tom Kenney spoke for the first time Monday about the teenage daughter he and his wife lost seven weeks ago.
"Her physical presence not being there is hard, very hard," Kenney said as he stood near the family's Winton Hills home.
Esme Kenney, 13, was found strangled after she went to run around a nearby water reservoir and never came back.
Suspected serial killer Anthony Kirkland is in jail awaiting trial on a charge of aggravated murder. If convicted, Kirkland could be sentenced to death.
Asked if he was angry at Kirkland, Tom Kenney said no, adding his focus is on the corrections system.
"I have anger at the system that let him slip through the cracks and the fact that this guy wasn't behind bars and society wasn't protected from him," Esme's father, a pediatrician, stated.
Kenney continued his thought by saying, "It's hard when you know these people are out there. You just hope one of them never lands on your doorstep."
After Esme's body was discovered, the Kenneys expressed concerns about how police had handled the missing persons report.
Since that time, family members have met with Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher and his command staff, too.
Kenney says that's been very positive.
"I think they're going to make some changes in the way they handle missing persons responses in the future," said Kenney.
The family released 10 new pictures of Esme – some of her practicing her music and others with her Father, Tom, and her Mother, Lisa.
Smiles abound for the camera, a reminder of happier times.
The photos tug at the heartstrings of Tom Kenney, who says the pain hasn't lessened much the past seven weeks.
"I talk to her every day," he said as his eyes became moist.
Esme's classmates at the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) have paid tribute to her.
A school in Burma will be named in her honor. Friends have begun a site in Facebook called "In Loving Memory,” which has attracted 4,000 responses.
The Kenneys say that does help spread shouldering the pain and that they're moved by the outpouring of support.
That's one reason they chose to make changing the system their mission so that Esme's death will not be in vain.
