Murdered family remembered in moving memorial

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Friends and church members are trying to cope with the sudden loss of a Houston reverend, his wife and young son.

Saturday night's service was one of many held to honor the memories of the Reverend Ahimbisibwe, his wife Dorcus and five-year-old son Jay. Friends tell say the family was an integral part of the Ugandan community here in Houston, sharing love and encouragement with everyone they met. Several friends say they're struggling to understand how anyone could kill them.

"Both Israel and Dorcus touched many lives," said friend May Masozera. "They went beyond any boundary -- boundary of religion, boundary of race, boundary of status. They met people where they were."

Masozera says church on Sunday without the reverend, his wife and son will be difficult, but that it will also be a challenge for the church to live by their example.

The family is from Uganda. Ahimbisibwe attended university there, then received Master's degrees from both Princeton Theological Seminary and Harvard Divinity School, specializing in Old Testament studies. He received his doctorate degree from Rice University and also was a minister at the University of Houston.

The family will be buried in their home country of Uganda.

Authorities have charged 19-year-old Isaac Tiharihondi with capital murder in the deaths of his parents and little brother. He was arrested in Mississippi last week and is currently awaiting extradition back to Houston. Detectives say on the day they were killed the pastor and his wife planned to confront their son about a lie. He told them he had joined the Marines when in fact he had not.