By Alex Al Kazzaz/reporter
Chris Keith’s father killed his mom and brother and tried to kill him when he was 5 years old.
He survived to share his story with a group of TCC students Oct. 15 on NE Campus in a speech titled The Boy Who Lived.
The paramedics presumed Keith, his brother and mom all dead when his family was discovered the next morning. A paramedic spotted Chris moving. He was rushed to the hospital. After a successful operation, Keith said he woke up not knowing what happened or where he was.
“I just woke up and realized I was alone,” he said. “I was just really scared.”
Since he was only 5, the state of Oklahoma decided he was too young to be told what happened. His grandparents gained custody and raised him.
Being the only survivor was hard because he always wondered what happened to his mother, Keith said. He shut himself off from others and would talk to people only when they spoke to him.
At 12 years old, he said his grandfather told him what happened to his mom and older brother. From that moment, he said a war erupted in his head. He was confused, scared and didn’t know what to expect.
“Signs of emotion and fear were always coming to my head,” he said. “My dad was just so obsessed with my mom, and he never paid any attention to me or my brother.”
NE student Colby James said he was heartbroken about what Keith went through.
“It’s kind of an uncomfortable feeling,” he said. “It’s disgusting that someone would do that to their own family, especially to their young children.”
NE student Casey Willett said he was convinced and encouraged about Keith’s idea to share his story.
“It’s a miracle,” he said. “The blessing is not his, but it’s to all the people who are there to listen to all his words of wisdom and encouragement.”
Keith spreads his message to schools, detention centers and prisons. He wants people to take the blessing of life and live it well because it is rare that some get a second chance, he said.
A student asked Keith if he had forgiven his father for murdering his mom.
“Yes, I’ve forgiven him because it would haunt me if I spent the rest of my life hating him for all the shock, depression and fear he put me through,” he said.
Since he survived the night his father shot him, Keith said he refers to himself as “the boy who lived.”
