Tuesday, January 13, 2026

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT by Vanessa, -Sister and best friend of Cynthia Mykkanen

"thank you!" to crime & public safety reporter, Robert Solanga, for all the follow-through; for professional journalism; for covering this tragedy; recognizing and honoring Cynthia Mykkanen.

 briefly:  yesterday ryan garner was officially sentenced to 25 years to life.  he was a no show again, but Carolyn, DDA, had shared with us, after the last no-show, that Judge Chew did not generally allow postponements more than once; that if he was a no show again, he would still be sentenced.   -we knew, Vanessa, very much wanted direct eye contact with ryan when sharing her victim statement; but she went ahead and read, via teams (courtroom video); and a very powerful victim impact statement it is:

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT by Vanessa

There is no closure but there is justice.  I would like to thank the dutiful judge, our determined prosecutor and the jury.  The jury who I'll never know, yet will always hold a place in my heart, so thank you all.

Ryan, what is a man?

Not you.  You chose who to hurt, not your dad -who is in equal size and would have been able to defend himself.  You knew what you were doing.  There is no mental illness that you couldn't have controlled.

Ryan, did you feel like a man as you beat a 57 year old woman?  A 5 foot, 100lb woman?

Your mother.

A grandmother.

after torturing my sister, you went looking for sex & to party --the disgusting things you said to Maria -- you're a disgusting human being, and I use human being loosely.

The ultimate sin  -in the most heinous way.  I am aware of other monstrous crimes, murders - and you Ryan  - somehow you always out do the murderers.  I don't know what to think of you.  Cindy has given me permission to hate you.

You killed, you slaughtered, you tortured the one person who loved you unconditionally, my sister.

She literally died for you.

Ryan, you had no right.

Ryan, you have no honor.  You abandon your children and their mothers.  Your children will grow up knowing you killed their grandmother.  They'll know they have a killer as a father. 

You are the first in my family to commit a crime.  Let alone the monstrous crime you committed.

You no longer belong to this family.

You no longer can call my parents your grandparents.

I can speak for them and they have disowned you.  They no longer love you nor do they care about you.

Many people in these circumstances would say you are dead to them.

Or that they choose to never think of you again, but not me.

I will think of you everyday

every moment that I enjoy my freedom

Freedom that you will never have again.

I will think of you when I relax in my garden and watch the birds.

I will think of you when I go to the beach and feel the ocean breeze caress my skin.

I will think of you when I go to a concert to see my favorite band.

I can spend time with my friends and family.

I can hold hands with my husband.

I can hug my daughters.

I can travel

Whenever I want.

I can hug my dogs

I can pet my cats

Whenever I want

I can have pizza delivered

I can go to Taco Bell when I'm craving a chalupa


I have love & family, you do not.

I will have a lifetime of fun & love and I will think of you.

Behind bars, in darkness, without freedom, without free will, without love.

My heart will be all a glow.


And I hope you think of me

As you bend over to grab the soap, when you can't have the food you're craving, think of me and

think of all those things that I can do that you cannot.


Ryan, when you killed Cindy, you killed a part of me too.

But I am not broken, MY family is not broken -- we are united .

United in eternal love for Cindy.

Today everything is "over" but it's never "over" is it?

To the court, thank you for delivering justice in honor of my sister, Cynthia Ann Mykkanen, please

never allow him to enjoy freedom again.  thank you. 

****



****
sentencing day jan 12th, 2026  #criminalcattlecall

****

*  there needs to be a book, a compilation of victim impact statements  -1 years worth, out of santa clara county superior court.   in that same book, itemized, bullet point list of criminals/names, their crime, and the final sentence. -for the same 1 year time period.  this information needs to be seen in a collective way and accessible to the public at large.

it is my educated guess, that the availability of this information would shift us back where we belong, which is PUBLIC SAFETY #1 VALUE:   away from 'soft on crime and criminals' to a more just system with actual consequences. 

*  there needs to be an online list of crime related headlines in newspapers, for that same time period and then bullet points of, 'what happened next?'  as time reveals.  

a regard this a golden opportunity and call to action for the current generation of real journalists.

****

havent i had to think on the topic of evil; of crime and punishment throughout my life..

i've considered it from every angle; from very sympathetic to the criminals..

i've hovered over many different possibilities; and have, at age almost 60, landed here:

tough on crime and criminals yields the best results for society at large.

too much for me write/document here, but..  

jail is not 2nd chance school; jail is not a rehabilitation facility; jail is a consequence 

    true; i think of it often,  i had a hard time finding employment with a B.A. Degree and no criminal record..

it will be even more difficult for criminals who lack education and do have a criminal record when their time is served to find employment and become self-sufficient  [not speaking here of crimes as significant as rape and/or murder] 
    -but that too, is part of your consequence.   -suck it up.

you don't get to destroy a person's well-being and/or property, steal, assault, abuse..   etc. without facing very serious consequences.

jail is a terrible, horrible, awful place; it is supposed to be a terrible, horrible, awful place..

you should avoid having to go to jail at all cost.    dont mean avoid getting caught.. 

  you should not commit crimes exactly because you do not want to face those type of consequences.  ideally, the awfulness of jail serves as a disincentive for any crimes you might be contemplating.. 
but..   do the crime; do the time.  and consequences will linger...    which is part of the consequence. 


     -there are places the traditional news seems not to visit; places we don't see their lens:

one example: there is a LARGE population of people who live below the poverty line; who struggle financially; who live pay check to pay check..  and carry debt..     and yet, they do not steal; they do not turn to drugs and alcohol..    they maintain morals, values,  while they survive..    working toward 'thriving'   -poverty does not become an excuse or rationalization or justification for criminal behavior and activity.

****

there is a longer summary, of course..  but, God has blessed us with a gorgeous day! and we are going to joyfully play in it..  

hallelujah & amen
#cynthiamykkanen




 

posted by SANDRA MICKANEN @ 8:05 AM

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home