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GREENSBORO — Nearly 19 years ago, the quiet woods behind Jones Elementary School became the scene of one of the city’s most horrific unsolved murders.

It was there, among the beer bottles, trash, weeds and fallen trees that 7-year-old Shalonda Poole lost her life at the hands of a rapist on July 21, 1990. The little girl was strangled to death after being abducted from the stoop of her Ashe Street home.

The killing sparked outrage in the Warnersville community and the area was cleaned up. A park was dedicated to the little girl’s memory, but in the years that followed, the area was once again subject to neglect and vandalism.

Thanks to a community effort started last summer, Shalonda Poole’s memory was resurrected fully Friday night as the park that bears her name was rededicated.

Nearly 100 people gathered inside the school’s auditorium Friday night for a ceremony full of speeches, music and gifts for the Poole family.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Marilyn Poole, Shalonda’s mother, said of the desire she has had to see the park rebuilt.

“This will be a legacy. The park will be a place where my grandchildren can come and remember their aunt and know her memory will stand for something.”

Efforts to rebuild the park started last summer when Marilyn Poole went before the City Council asking for help. Other than seeing her daughter’s murder solved, Marilyn Poole said getting the park rebuilt was the second thing she wanted to happen before she died.

City Council listened and city staff, with the help of the Warnersville Historical and Beautification Society and Guilford County Schools, got the project under way.

Though not complete, the one-acre wooded area behind the school has been cleared of litter, and a concrete bench has been placed in the area for the family and the community to have a place to remember Shalonda.

Foot bridges over the creek in the area have been restored and a sign with Shalonda’s picture is planned to mark the area.

Mayor Yvonne Johnson, the keynote speaker at Friday’s event, said talks are under way for the city to maintain the property, which is owned by the school system, to keep it from falling into disarray again.

Last Tuesday, the City Council also made a proclamation making today Shalonda Poole Day. A celebration is planned at the Warnersville Recreation Center today to celebrate.

“(Rebuilding the park) was the right thing to do, it’s a wonderful way to remember an innocent girl who was violently attacked and her life taken,” Johnson said.

“This park is a symbol to children who play there and live there that her spirit and her memory will always be there.”

Angela Harris of the Warnersville Historical and Beautification Society said the project symbolized a time of healing and assurance that Shalonda won’t be forgotten:

“Hopefully there will never be another Shalonda Poole tragedy in Warnersville and in the city of Greensboro.”

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com