By BROOKLYN BROWN
One Feather Reporter
CHEROKEE, N.C.—With help from the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People (MMIWG2T), the Cherokee One Feather is detailing each of the 35 documented Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) cases in a monthly article.
Ronda Linda Colindres, the grandmother of Lively Crue Colindres who was murdered in February 2022 at the age of 8-months-old, holds a sign honoring Lively during the 4th Annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Walk and Vigil which was held on the evening of Friday, May 5, 2023 in Cherokee, N.C. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Lively Crüe Colindres, an 8-month-old baby girl and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), was murdered in February 2022. Lively is the daughter of Elbia Colindres, and granddaughter of Ronda Linda Colindres, who shared powerful words at the 4th Annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Walk and Vigil on May 5, 2023, in Cherokee.
“I never dreamed this would happen to me, so I know how you feel who have lost somebody. We’re not looking for sympathy, but we are seeking justice. Until she gets justice, that’s when she can rest in peace,” Ronda Linda Colindres said.
Lively’s father, Corbin Lee Nunez, then 22 years old, was arrested and charged with murder by Graham County on Feb. 21, 2022, nine days after Lively succumbed to her injuries on Feb. 12, 2022.
Nunez was booked into Polk County Detention Center on March 7, 2024, under a bond of $2 million. Polk County lists the charge as “housing for another agency.”
Lively’s case was continued, with the next hearing set for Oct. 28, 2024, in Graham County Criminal Court.
Lively’s family nicknamed her “Sweets,” for her sweet disposition and smile.
Justice for Lively is still being sought by her family, who marched in her honor on May 5 holding signs adorned with butterflies, flowers, and hearts.
This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit and Transgender People (MMIWG2T).
