Mother of slain child educates parents

Thirteen months have gone by since 7-year-old Somer Thompson , a second grader in Orange Park, Florida, was abducted.

It happened during her walk home from Grove Park Elementary School on Oct. 19, 2009. She had run ahead of her siblings and friends but was no where in sight once the kids reached the crossing guard. She was gone that soon.

Somer disappeared near a vacant house that soon fell under police scrutiny, but no evidence of her, or of any struggle, came to light.

The second grader's body was recovered three days later thrown away in a regional landfill some 55 miles away. It would take nearly 5 months for the alleged killer to be found.

According to police reports, the suspect was a man who lived in Somer's neighborhood. He is also charged with child pornography after police confiscated his computer and it's files.

Somer's mother Diena Thompson now spends her days helping educate other parents on what to do if their child goes missing and helping to improve the Amber Alert System in our country. Because there was no evidence of Somer's disappearance, no witness, no vehicle ID, an Amber Alert was not immediately issued.

The trial for her daughter's murder is still about 15 months away, but Diena says she will be there for every moment.

"I will never leave Somer again. I will be there to hear every word of what happened to her," she said.

Diena has three other children. She spends as much time as possible with them, and wants other parents with children to love them, enjoy every moment with them, and let them be a child, make a mess and laugh, worship every moment and love them.