Blood donation campaign in honor of the memory of the murder victim | Local News

The annual Richard Hogue Memorial Blood Drive is scheduled for Nov. 9 in Ellwood City.

Blood collection will take place between 2 and 6 p.m. in the dining room of the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church Civic Center at 300 Crescent Avenue. Donors are asked to park behind the building.

You can make donation appointments at vitaland.org and search using account code &Z0020906 or by zip code, or you can call 1 (877) 25VITAL or Rachel at (412) 736-5506. Donors can also contact Vitalant at (412) 209-7000.

Hogue, who lived in Enon Valley, was killed in a shooting in Ellwood City on Nov. 16, 2013, at age 28.

His killer, Leon Platt, 37, was convicted in April 2016 of third-degree murder and other firearms offenses in connection with Hogue's death and is serving a sentence of 22 to 53 years at the state correctional facility at Albion in Erie County.

Hogue's mother, Debbi Murdock, said her son was a “hardworking” “working man” who grew up with values ​​and lived to love and help others. The blood drives were held by Murdock each year on or around the anniversary of Richard's death to keep his memory alive.