Kyra Franchetti loved to play in the parks near her Manhasset home, according to her mother, Jacqueline Franchetti.
“At the Mary Jane Davies Green, she loved to go down the slide, and she demanded to go fast on the swings,” Franchetti said in a phone interview.
She’d also frequently take Kyra to Blumenfeld Family Park in Port Washington, where she played in the sprinklers, and would go to classes at the Parents Resource Center nearby.
“I vividly remember, there was another parent walking with their children when Kyra was playing in the sprinklers,” Franchetti recalls. “They looked at Kyra, who was giggling and laughing and having so much fun. And other parent said to their children, ‘If you have half as much fun as she’s having, it’s going to be a great day.'”
In the summer of 2016, Kyra was killed by her father at his home in Fairfax, Virginia, while on an unsupervised, court-sanctioned visit. The sleeping 2-year-old was shot twice in the back before her father set the house on fire and shot himself to death.
Franchetti, who had experienced physical and verbal abuse from Kyra’s father and left him when she became pregnant, had been embroiled in a yearslong custody dispute with him at the time in Nassau County’s Family Court system, and from then on dedicated her time to pursuing legislation to ensure that what happened to Kyra wouldn’t happen to any other child, founding the child safety advocacy group Kyra’s Champions.
Since then, she has obtained the passage of a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives which calls for hearings on the practices of Family Courts, says that evidence of abuse can only be submitted by an approved fee-paid professional and that states should have clear standards for the professionals, among other things; and testified before the New York State Assembly, with a bill named for Kyra introduced in the chamber last month.
Now, Kyra’s beloved parks in North Hempstead will commemorate what would have been her seventh birthday, with Kyra’s Champions poised to plant a total of 744 blue pinwheels at the Davies Green and Blumenfeld Park. The idea combines the blue ribbon that represented child abuse with the modern Pinwheels for Prevention campaign headed by Prevent Child Abuse America.
The number of pinwheels placed, 744, not only represent Kyra and the other 18 children in New York state who have been murdered by their father or mother while going through a child custody case, divorce or separation, Franchetti explained, but 725 children whose deaths are said to have been hidden by Child Protective Services.
Franchetti hopes the display will inspire more conversation about a topic that most feel uncomfortable discussing.
“People don’t want to admit there’s a bigger picture here, because people don’t always want to talk about child abuse or family violence,” Franchetti said. “These are things that are hidden and take place behind closed doors, right? But if we don’t talk about it, how many more children will die? How many more children will be abused?”
The pinwheels will be placed in the early days of April, recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, by local children and teenagers, Franchetti said, leading to Kyra’s birthday on April 4.
“This is really an event for kids, being done by kids,” Franchetti said. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful way to honor their memories, and to hopefully bring about change and research.”
Kyra’s Champions is also encouraging members of the North Shore community to purchase a bundle of seven pinwheels for $28, to place around their homes during the month of April in support of child abuse prevention. Franchetti’s hope would be to drive around the areas on Kyra’s birthday and see the pinwheels in lawns and gardens.
“I’m extremely thankful and grateful that our community continues to support Kyra,” Franchetti said. “I’m overwhelmed by it and it’s absolutely wonderful.”
Remembering Kyra at two of her favorite places, and celebrating her birthday in the best possible way, brings fond memories to mind for Franchetti.
“They’re wonderful, wonderful places, and I have so many great memories of my time with Kyra,” she said.
Interested parties can purchase pinwheels for display around their homes and get more information about Pinwheels for Prevention at kyraschampions.org/pinwheels.
