A crowd of community members from Hanska, New Ulm, and Mankato gather on West Blessum Street Saturday for a memorial vigil. The event was held at the former residence of Justin Reinarts and Tabitha Leigh Trescott to reclaim the site through community support and domestic violence advocacy. (Photo by Amy Zents)

HANSKA — Community members gathered Saturday at 102 W. Blessum St. in Hanksa for a vigil to honor Justin Paul Reinarts and Tabitha Leigh Trescott.

The event, held six months after their deaths, served as both a memorial and a platform for domestic violence awareness. 

Brittany Wojtowicz, Executive Director of CADA (Committee Against Domestic Abuse), stated the location was chosen to remain close to the victims’ former home while respecting the property boundaries. 

“We wanted to feel close to the love that was here,” Wojtowicz said. “I need your help in creating a space that is for learning and remembering, grieving and hoping.”

The vigil included representatives from Minnesota United Against Domestic Violence (MUADV). Organizers Morgan Blackstad and Cristin Gant reported they have been advocating at the State Capitol for legislative changes.

“We’ve been advocating at the state capitol for stronger punishment,” Blackstad said. “Less leniency is definitely a huge part. We need to start looking at the rap sheet and how many times they have violated and what we can do to protect mothers and children.”

Gant added that increasing the public volume of these stories is necessary for community education. 

“I am glad that their story is still going strong to help others because as tragic as it is, it definitely needs to be voluminous,” Gant said. “It needs the coverage, it needs to stop.”

Justin Paul Reinarts, 50, was remembered not only as a 17-year veteran of the Hanska Fire Department and a father of two, but as a “calm and reassuring” presence in the community. 

Blackstad shared a personal account of a life-saving encounter with Reinarts on Feb. 24, 2025, when she went into anaphylactic shock at a Hanska gas station. As her airway began to close, Reinarts was among the first responders on the scene.

“I remember the fear, the uncertainty, and then his voice. Calm, steady, reassuring,” Blackstad said. “He said, ‘Everything will be alright. We are here, Morgan.’ I never got the chance to say thank you before he passed, and that is something that weighs on my heart.”

Reinarts lived in the home on West Blessum Street in Hanska where Tabitha Leigh Trescott, 32, had recently moved in to join him. 

His brother, Brent Reinarts, spoke of their deep bond, saying Justin was the youngest of four siblings: Troy, Michelle, Brent, and Justin. 

Despite a seven-year age gap, Brent said he and Justin were the closest in the family. 

“He did everything I did,” Brent said, noting their shared interests in softball, darts and demolition derbies. 

“I didn’t think I’d have to lose a brother or sister before mom and dad.” 

The tragedy was compounded by the fact that the brothers’ parents both passed away within the same six-month window following the incident.

On the morning of Nov. 2, 2025, around 4 a.m., Trescott’s ex-boyfriend, 45-year-old Randy Thomas Zimmerman, broke into the home. Trescott’s 13-year-old son awoke to the intrusion and called 911. 

Zimmerman fatally shot Reinarts and Trescott in the bedroom before fleeing. He was arrested in Louisa County, Iowa, and later indicted by a grand jury on counts of first-degree premeditated murder. 

Court records indicate Zimmerman had a history of domestic assault convictions and was on probation at the time.

During the event, Blackstad and Gant presented the families with “memory bears” constructed from Trescott’s clothing by Blackstad’s aunt, Karissa Hansen of St. James. 

“Sometimes those memories are just in ourselves,” Gant said regarding the gift. “But when we can reach out and touch those things, it just feels a little bit different.” 

Olivia Finden, who described herself as Tabitha’s best friend and “soulmate without the romance,” spoke to the crowd about the light Trescott brought into a room. 

“Tabitha was unapologetically herself. She never tried to be anyone other than who she was,” Finden said. She emphasized that Trescott was a mother first, stating, “Her kids were her world. She loved them with her everything.”

Finden vowed to carry that memory forward by speaking Tabitha’s name and loving others with the same intensity Trescott did.

Dawn Buboltz, whose only daughter Jessica was killed in a domestic violence incident 15 years ago, also addressed the crowd, urging justice and the continued remembrance of victims’ names. 

“Losing a beautiful child hurts like hell.” Buboltz said. “As we age, it’s easier to understand when we get really old, we are running out of time, but everybody grieves in a different way. It takes a long time to heal from losses of moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and beautiful babies. I had to learn how to live with it.”

Wojtowicz concluded by providing a list of behavioral “red flags,” such as isolation and excessive jealousy, before the event ended with a reading of Amanda Gorman’s “A New Day’s Lyric.” 

Proceeds and items brought to the event were collected for the surviving children and families.