Florida Letters for First Lady Casey DeSantis

Dear First Lady Casey DeSantis,
My name is Christie Rigney, and my son Kyle Louis Rigney was murdered on December
13, 2020. He was born on October 23,1990. He was 30 years old and my first-born son.
He was poisoned by cocaine laced with fentanyl and carfentanil. He always said, “Mom,
you can’t overdose on cocaine”. He didn’t overdose, he was poisoned.
Kyle was a son, a father, a brother, an uncle, a grandson and a best friend. He had two
little girls; an 11-year-old named Savannah and an 8-month-old named Ila. He loved them
dearly. They were his world. Ila, the youngest, also lost her mother 11 months later. So his
daughter does not have a father or a mother because of fentanyl.
My son fought his addiction hard. He never wanted to be addicted. He had been to many
rehabs over the years. He wanted to be clean. He did not want to die! The police did
nothing about his murder, even though there is evidence on his phone. They treated him
like he was not worth their time. My ex-husband was military, so we travelled a lot.
Georgia is where my son attended high school and lived. He was in Florida when he was
murdered.
My son had the biggest heart. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He
was loved by many. He was my best friend! We talked and texted every day!
His best friend committed suicide 7 months later to the day. He said he wanted to be with
his friend.
It took me a long time to write this letter, as the hurt is so strong that I didn’t want to bring
myself back to this day. Surely you have someone that you love, a child, a grandson and if
you had to endure this pain, maybe you would push to get something done to stop it. We
must fight! Fight to stop the murders happening to our children!
This must stop! We have lost so many to illicit fentanyl. Close the borders!
We are asking for a drug memorial wall to be placed in honor of our loved ones at the
State Capitol. They are victims of the War of Drugs. Please help us place a memorial wall
in the Florida Capitol.
Signed by a mother, who misses her son dearly.
Christie Rigney
Perry, Georgia