Tree planting honors slain Apex teen
Thanks to a 4-H club, more than 2,200 trees will grow in an Apex park in memory of Matt Silliman, a slain Eagle Scout who loved the outdoors.
Posted — UpdatedMatthew Silliman, 18, was reported missing Nov. 26, 2008, and Wake County sheriff's deputies found his body six days later in a mobile home at 4221 Olive Branch Lane.
"Members are dedicating the event to Matthew Silliman, who was a friend and a mentor, who loved the outdoors and was active in community service," the Robocats said in a press release.
"He would want us to come together to do something for the community," Betty Silliman said of her son.
Organizers said nearly 100 young people from Boy Scouts, churches and schools had volunteered to help plant red cedars, pines, redbuds, red maples, white oaks and persimmons during the four-hour event Saturday.
“He would have been the first one to volunteer to come out and help. He loved the outdoors. He loved to do community service,” his father Ben Silliman said.
“Matt was really a great person and he deserves something like this to remember him forever,” Pearce said.
Chick-fil-A donated lunches, and Ads in Action produced a commemorative T-shirt, organizers said.
Silliman earned his Eagle Scout badge with a landscaping project at his church, Peace Presbyterian Church in Cary. He turned a vacant, muddied spot into a beautiful gathering place, his Boy Scout leader Alan O'Neal has said.
Four young adults face murder charges in Silliman's death: Allegra Rose Dahlquist, 17, of 601 Walcott Way, Cary; Ryan Patrick Hare, 18; of 100 Walnut Hill Court, Apex; Aadil Shahid Khan, 17, of 901 Bristol Blue St., Apex; and Drew Logan Shaw, 16, of 107 Woolard Way, Apex.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.