Jarred Harrell did not appear at a pretrial hearing Tuesday morning, but Somer's mom, Diena Thompson, was in the courtroom, as she has vowed to be.
"It's hard. It's a long, drawn-out process, but I want them to convict the correct person," Thompson said. "So however much time it takes them to get this and do it right, then that's what time it takes."
Somer was abducted as she was walking home from school in October 2009. Her body was found three days later in a landfill in southeast Georgia.
Harrell was arrested several months later and faces 58 charges, including first-degree murder, child molestation and dozens of counts of child pornography.
Harrell's court appearances remain open, but he has waived his right to appear at every pretrial hearing since April. His trial is not likely to begin until 2012.
Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Harrell is convicted, which is likely the reason for the drawn-out pretrial
FEBRUARY 21, 2011
ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Her daughter was kidnapped as she walked home from school and killed. Diena Thompson is now using her experience to help parents who experience the same terrible loss.
Diena's 7-year-old daughter, Somer, disappeared Oct. 19, 2009. A man who lived in a house on the route Somer took home from elementary school is charged murder in her death.
Hundreds in the community helped search for Somer in the two days between her disappearance and when her body was found in the Georgia landfill where Orange Park's trash is dumped.
Many have also donated money to the Somer Thompson foundation. Thompson is using that foundation to help others.
Thompson recently visited a Texas mother whose 13-year-old daughter disappeared two days after Christmas.
"Being with Billy Dunn, which her daughter still missing, it's like being back when Somer was missing," Thompson told Channel 4's Jennifer Waugh.
Virgina Ennen's 15-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was found along a Texas road last month.
"Then, to be with Virginia Ennen, the mother of Elizabeth, knowing that the day that I met her, that was the day she just made her arrangements to put her baby in the ground."
While meeting with these mothers reminds her of the pain of Somer never coming come, Thompson has dedicated her life to helping other parents survive the same nightmare.
"I know how bad it hurts and just need someone to talk to, and someone who understands what you're going through," Thompson said. "I want to be that."
The Somer Thompson Foundation just made it's first two grants to Billy Dunn and Virginia Ennen.
"I want families to be able to pay their mortgage, pay their car payment, pay their insurance," Thompson said.
Thompson said the foundation talks with police first to make sure the custodial parent receiving the money is not involved in their child's disappearance. She said grants are based on financial need.
"We want to help families, we don't want to help our self," Thompson said. "You know, I've already lost Somer -- I can't get her back -- so all I can do now is press forward and try to help families."
She said Somer is watching her efforts and smiling.
"I hope that she's proud," Thompson said. "I don't know, but I hope that she is."
Thompson said she was so fortunate to have so many people surround her with love when her daughter disappeared. It meant so much to her, and still does.
She said the reality is that bills don't go away with someone kidnaps your child. She wants to ease that burden for other parents.
The next opportunity to raise money for the Somer Thompson Foundation is the Annual Purple Sunshine Motorcycle Ride and Concert. It will be held April 29 through May 1 in Green Cove Springs and feature many events, including a concert by Molly Hatchett.
More Online: Purple Sunshine Motorcycle Ride and Concert
