Athens, Georgia (CNN) — The five pairs of sneakers resting in front of a popular wooded trail serve as a daily reminder of the run Laken Riley never finished.
In the nine months since Riley was bludgeoned and killed in the University of Georgia’s Oconee Forest Park, students and recreational athletes have returned to the nature trail. But the tragedy has altered their behavior.
“In the beginning … I’m a girl, so all my runner friends and … everybody texted each other. People shared locations,” UGA junior Victoria Kota said. “I became really vigilant.”
UGA graduate Calvin Pettyjohn said he might not be “a target demographic of that type of violence” Riley suffered. But he, too, takes extra precautions by making verbal contact with strangers on the trail – “you know, just say hi, things like that.”
“It kind of sends off a warning signal” to potential criminals that he’s watching them, too, Pettyjohn said.
Much has changed since Riley’s body was found …