Participants:
Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001126A
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00:32 I'm standing at a crime scene in Washington, D.C. USA. A young 00:38 woman was brutally murdered in the apartment behind me. Shannon 00:42 Marie Bigger, just 25 years of age, was found dead here with 00:47 stab wounds to the neck. Her hands and feet were bound with 00:51 a telephone cord. 00:57 Shannon Bigger, a 25-year-old _ missionary from Walla 01:01 Walla, Washington was tied up and had her throat slashed. Her 01:05 nude body was found yesterday on the bed inside her Silver 01:09 Spring apartment just across the D.C. line. 01:13 What do you do when your daughter's been murdered, been 01:17 stabbed to death and is now lying in a morgue hundreds of 01:20 kilometers away. Where was God when the murderer pushed his way 01:25 into her apartment and attacked her? And what does God expect 01:30 of you now? How do you cope with such an unthinkable loss. Can 01:35 your shattered world every be put back together. Is it 01:40 possible to find peace again. Well today we're going to find 01:46 out. We're going to hear one family's journey after the 01:50 murder of their daughter. Darold and Barbara Bigger tell us the 01:56 story of Shannon's death and what they went through after it. 01:59 This isn't a view from a distance. The Bigger's let us 02:03 into their hearts. They share what they were thinking and 02:07 feeling and how they finally found what they needed to carry 02:12 on. They provide an in-depth look at forgiveness and love 02:15 and they provide a perspective that enables us to more easily 02:20 love our enemies and forgive them. 02:23 ♪ ♪ 02:41 On the 16th of June 1996, father's day in America, and her 02:46 grandfather's birthday, 25-year- old Shannon Bigger was gagged 02:51 and tied to her bed in her apartment and heartlessly 02:56 murdered. Her body was discovered the next morning. 03:00 It all started with a phone call on Monday, I was packing up to 03:05 move to a different office for the summer and the chaplain 03:07 asked me to come to his office and I was frustrated about that 03:13 because I already had a full day of activities on my calendar. 03:18 And I had already been called, I learned later, and when I got 03:23 to the chaplain's office, he was very very quiet and said we 03:27 were waiting for Darold. So I was surprised wondering what in 03:32 the world he had said that it was a personal matter of some 03:35 urgency. What could that have possibly been? 03:39 When I walked into the office and Barbara was sitting there 03:43 that was a surprise to me. The chaplain stood up from his desk 03:47 and came around to our side of the table. It all comes back. 03:53 And he said, I have the worst possible news that I could ever 04:00 share with you. Shannon has been killed, murdered in her 04:05 apartment in Washington, D.C. Our lives just fell apart. 04:14 I couldn't even comprehend the word murder. In fact, my mind 04:18 stopped at killed and I envisioned a car accident. 04:22 I knew the intersection where it happened. I wondered how many 04:26 other people were involved and the word murder didn't sink for, 04:32 I'm sure it was a split second, but it just, something I 04:36 couldn't wrap my mind around at all. I'd never known anybody who 04:41 had a family member murdered, didn't know them personally. You 04:45 know that only happens to other people. They identified that 04:52 Shannon was not a druggie or a prostitute. They found her 04:56 prayer journal by her bed and they had read some of it. They 05:03 started looking at surveillance tape. There's a big sign at the 05:08 entrance of her apartment complex that says surveillance 05:11 and it worked, the camera worked They saw a man going in and out 05:17 that day that didn't belong there. Neighbors identified 05:21 that they'd seen a person going in and out of her apartment. 05:29 The police then began looking for this van which had a stolen 05:32 license plate on it. So they got a search warrant. Early the next 05:36 morning they went to Anthony Robinson's apartment and found 05:41 him still in bed watching Shannon's television set. 05:46 Several others of her things that he had taken were in his 05:49 apartment. So miraculously shortly after she was killed 05:55 Anthony was in custody and has been ever since. We came back to 06:03 Washington, D.C. for the sentencing hearing and the 06:06 state's attorney made his summary statement to the judge 06:12 and concluded with a much more intense statement than I would 06:20 have done myself, but essentially said, pointing to 06:25 Anthony at the table who during this whole time had been sitting 06:29 there pretty nonresponsive looking down at the desk, not 06:33 paying much attention. Pointed at Anthony and said, This man 06:38 who committed this heinous crime deserves to spend the rest of 06:44 his life in his own private hell. And at that, Anthony looked up 06:53 glared at the attorney and gave him the finger. So that was our 07:02 image of Anthony. 07:04 No remorse whatsoever. Never seemed to consider saying he was 07:12 sorry or anything. He was given a chance to speak if he wanted 07:16 to and chose not to. Although I must admit if he had said he was 07:22 sorry, I'm not sure I would have believed him. He had told the 07:27 police many stories about how he chose Shannon as his victim, so 07:34 I don't know. 07:39 Police say Shannon Marie Bigger last talked to family or friends 07:42 on Sunday at 4 p.m. By Sunday night no one was able to reach 07:46 her. For relatives who came here this morning to check on Shannon 07:50 Bigger, there was a clue that all was not well. Her car was 07:54 still in the parking lot at 10:30 this morning. 07:57 When I went over there I saw Shannon's car parked there and 08:03 I went up to the door and the door was just slightly ajar. I 08:07 thought well she's maybe out taking the trash out and late to 08:11 (Don Steinert Shannon's Uncle) work or something, I didn't 08:13 know. Totally denying any possibility of anything at that 08:16 point. Ah, so I pushed the door open a little bit and there was 08:23 just the daylight from the early morning coming through the 08:27 windows there in the living room and way at the back in the 08:32 bedroom there was a faint light there and that was it, there 08:35 were no other lights in there. And I also smelled something 08:39 that I would have called the smell of death that I had 08:43 smelled around the hospital before. And I was a little 08:47 concerned. I thought, wow, what's going on here. And I 08:50 walked in and I noticed everything was kind of out of 08:55 place and in boxes and what not, but then she was moving so I 08:58 figured that she was packing. But I kept walking back toward 09:03 the bedroom toward the light. Didn't see anybody anywhere. 09:10 And got back to the bedroom and at this point the smell was 09:14 getting really strong and I thought who's back there in that 09:19 bedroom if Shannon's at work. I was just denying everything 09:24 at that point. I went into the bedroom and immediately two 09:28 things I noticed was the blood on the wall behind the headboard 09:33 and this sheet on the bed that was just, I couldn't have made 09:36 a bed that good. It was just immaculately smooth and every 09:40 corner mitered corners the whole bed. But it looked like you know 09:45 somebody had rolled up the pillows and laid them in a line 09:49 and I thought what is this? Well then I saw an arm from about 09:54 the elbow down hanging out the side and I thought, Oh no, who's 10:03 here, where is Shannon. I just had to see who was under there 10:10 so I went over and I just picked up the corner and there was 10:15 Shannon. I didn't even look any farther than, soon as I saw her 10:19 face I just dropped it down and just got nauseated in my stomach 10:24 at that point. I went right to the manager. So she immediately 10:29 called 9-1-1. 10:34 ♪ ♪ 10:43 We didn't hear from him for a long time, for several hours and 10:48 my mom and I and my brother we were all concerned. We were 10:51 (Ava Wilt, Shannon's cousin) starting to fear the worst that 10:53 something tragic had happened. So I called the apartment 10:58 complex where Shannon lived and they answered and I said, Do you 11:04 know Shannon Bigger? She's my cousin. I'm trying to get ahold 11:07 of her and my dad just came over recently to visit with her. Can 11:11 you tell me if everything's okay. And the woman who answered 11:14 the phone said I'm not allowed to make any comments. And I 11:18 pleaded with her. I said, Please tell me what's going on. I'm 11:23 getting really concerned. It's been several hours since my 11:25 father came over. And she said I'm sorry to tell you this, but 11:32 Shannon's been murdered. And I just started to weep and my mom 11:38 took the phone and knew that something was wrong. So what we 11:45 decided to go to the apartment complex because we hadn't heard 11:47 from my dad. Shannon was very involved in the church. She was 11:57 close to our family. She was the closest thing I had to a sister. 12:02 ♪ ♪ 12:22 She was not a perfect person and we acknowledge and recognize 12:26 that but she delighted us. 12:30 And her life was headed the right direction. She knew that 12:35 she wanted to be a very close friend of Jesus and she was 12:40 close. One of her uncles who visited her here in Maryland 12:45 actually said that he was staying with her for a few days 12:50 while he attended meetings and he said he heard her talking in 12:54 the middle of the night and he thought that was a little odd 12:57 so he actually crept kind of to her door and listened and she 13:02 was praying out loud for all the relatives and naming them 13:06 by name. And I didn't know she did that and that felt good to 13:10 know. She was a good kid. 13:15 ♪ ♪ 13:25 The impact of losing Shannon was the most devastating thing, of 13:29 course, that we've ever experienced. And there were 13:37 times early on and even months and months afterwards that I 13:41 thought that I would literally die of a broken heart. I could 13:46 remember just sobbing and sobbing and sobbing and thinking 13:51 I cannot go on. I cannot. And then of course I'd remember that 14:00 Shannon would want us to go on so I would have my good cry and 14:08 then I'd be okay for a while. 14:13 We went to church one morning without anybody else knowing 14:20 what I had been going through and the same chaplain who had 14:25 notified us the year before about Shannon's murder was 14:31 scheduled to speak that morning and he had chosen as his text 14:38 a verse in which Christian's are defined by the words, they will 14:47 know you're Christians by the way you love one another. 14:58 My mind immediately went to several other verses that 15:03 contained that same thought, the importance of loving other 15:07 people and when I got to the text where we are admonished 15:15 to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate you and 15:24 despitefully use you, I felt absolutely devastated because 15:31 I had been trying to do that for several weeks and I could not 15:35 accomplish it. I never felt more profoundly distant from God 15:43 than I did at that moment, in the middle of that 15:47 church service when that truth dawned on me. 15:51 Very little time later, I think it would be seconds 16:00 rather than minutes. Very shortly after I acknowledged 16:05 to myself, um, how at the core of who I am, I was an angry, 16:12 cynical, vengeful human being. 16:18 I remembered a text in Romans in which the Apostle Paul says, 16:26 "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 16:33 And I realized in a more profound way than I ever have 16:42 before that this cynical, rage filled Darold is the man 16:52 Jesus loved so much that he gave himself for me. 16:56 It wasn't just me when I was upset that my sister stole a 17:02 toy when we were children, or that some playmate on the 17:06 school playground jumped ahead of me in line. 17:09 It was this very profound rage in myself, 17:15 the part of me that I hated the most. 17:18 That was the part of me that God loves so much 17:22 that He accepts me. 17:29 And before the end of the service that day, 17:32 I realized that the knots that I had carried in the pit of 17:35 my stomach were gone, my jaw was relaxed, my fists were open, 17:45 and by the time we were singing the hymn and walking out, 17:49 I realized that another serious hurt by a person who I felt 17:58 had betrayed me and mis- represented me, 18:02 that resentment was gone as well. 18:05 It taught me that forgiveness was not something I accomplished 18:15 but that it was a gift that God gave to me. 18:21 It's not something that I do for myself, it's what has been 18:26 done for me that changes me. 18:29 So ever since that now, I have been on a quest to try to 18:34 comprehend and quantify and explain what happened to me 18:41 that day and the whole subject of forgiveness has followed 18:45 the train. 18:51 For our family, the tragedy of June 16 is not simply 18:55 that Shannon lost her life, but also that the world lost 19:00 a great gift of potential that her life represented. 19:03 For us, Shannon's death represents a fundamental 19:07 struggle between good and evil 19:10 and as a result if our family is angry in any significant way, 19:17 we are angry at what the world has been cheated of 19:19 because she can't be here to give any more. 19:23 Sorry dad, I just wanted to give the rest of the best. 19:28 {Indistinct chatter} 19:42 Um, yes, I have forgiven Anthony and I repeatedly forgive him 19:49 every time it comes up again because if forgiveness is not 19:54 an event, it's a process. And so we keep coming back 19:59 to these offenses, these grievances we have 20:03 in our case toward him, for the people our situations that 20:07 have disoriented us and each time it resurfaces, 20:10 we repeat the process. We remind ourselves that we know 20:17 what it's like to be forgiven and that forgiveness that comes 20:23 to us from God empowers us to share that with other people. 20:27 It lets us let go of our hurts. 20:38 But the difficult time for me came when I felt that I needed 20:43 to pray for Anthony. I thought how can I do that? 20:47 So all I could do was to ask God to make me willing to pray 20:53 for Anthony. It took a while before I could do that. 20:56 Since we are not allowed contact with him in any way, 21:03 I could only pray and hope that somebody, a chaplain or 21:09 someone on the inside can get through to him that what he did 21:14 was terrible and help him understand that he is still 21:20 a valuable human being and God still loves him... 21:23 Shannon knew that and would want that I know. 21:29 Having experienced that profound love that God had for me 21:37 when I hated myself, to be forgiven by a good God 21:43 changes everything for me. I think I am more gracious 21:49 to other people and the things they do to irritate me... 21:53 I think I am more aware of my own flaws and willing to accept 21:59 help with other people's flaws and because of that, I am 22:05 better able to share the gift of forgiveness with other people. 22:09 The truth is, this isn't all a story about me or us, 22:16 it's a story about God and what God for us 22:21 and can do for all of us as a human family for one and another. 22:35 It's been a privilege to have the Bigger's on our program 22:39 today. Darold's and Barbara's inspiring story reminds us 22:44 how important though difficult forgiveness is for us. 22:48 Both giving and receiving forgiveness can be a real 22:53 challenge for us, but it's only when God's miraculous gift 22:57 of forgiveness penetrates our lives that we can find 23:01 true peace and freedom. 23:03 God's forgiveness allows us to move way out of whatever 23:08 darkness, whatever problems are putting us down 23:10 and holding us captive. 23:12 His forgiveness allows us to move forward to a better place. 23:17 God provides the freedom we are longing for. 23:22 Why not reach out and accept that gift of forgiveness 23:25 and freedom right now as we pray. 23:29 Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for Darold and Barbara's 23:34 powerful and inspiring story, we are grateful for your offer 23:38 of forgiveness through Jesus. We thank you that you have 23:43 a plan for our lives and that you are waiting to assist us 23:46 through the challenges we face. 23:49 Father, we want to commit our lives to you today 23:53 and ask you to lead, guide, and direct in all that we do. 23:58 Lord, some of us are struggling with the challenge of 24:03 forgiveness in our lives. We want to leave the past behind 24:08 and move forward with you. You have the power to set us 24:13 free. We reach out and accept you and pray for your blessing 24:18 and deliverance. In Jesus name we pray. 24:22 Amen! 24:36 Darold and Barbara Biggers incredible story 24:39 of their struggle of the tragic death of their daughter Shannon 24:43 has inspired people around the world. 24:46 There story isn't a view from a distance, 24:49 the Biggers let us into their hearts they shared 24:53 what they were thinking and feeling and how they finally 24:56 found what they needed to carry on. 24:59 If you are struggling with the challenge of forgiveness 25:02 in real life, whether it be the need to forgive, 25:06 or the need to be forgiven, or if you'd like to experience 25:10 God's love and His gift of forgiveness, 25:13 then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have for all our 25:17 viewers today. It's a booklet called Forgiveness. 25:21 This booklet is our gift to you and it's absolutely free. 25:25 There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 25:29 This booklet will bring you fresh courage and hope, 25:33 in fact, it could change your life forever. 25:36 So please, don't miss this wonderful opportunity 25:40 to receive the free gift we have for you today. 25:44 Here's the information you need: 25:47 Phone or text us at: Or visit our website: 25:58 To request today's free offer and we'll send it to you 26:02 totally free of charge and with no obligation. 26:05 So don't delay, call or text: 26:18 New Zealand. 26:19 Or visit our website at www.tij.tv to request 26:26 today's offer. 26:27 Write to us at: 26:29 Or: 26:45 Don't delay, phone or text: In Australia. 26:52 Or visit our website at www.tij.tv to request 27:05 today's free offer. 27:06 Call or text us now. 27:09 If you've enjoyed today's journey, be sure to join us 27:14 again next week when we will share another of Life's Journey's 27:17 together and experience another new and thought provoking 27:22 perspective on the peace insight, understanding and hope 27:26 that only the Bible can give us. 27:28 The incredible journey truly is the television that changes lives. 27:34 Until next week, remember 27:36 the ultimate destination of Life's journey. 27:39 Now I saw a new heaven and earth and God will wipe away 27:44 every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death 27:47 nor sorrow, nor crying, there shall be no more pain 27:51 for the former things have passed away. |
Revised 2020-09-30