John Beale, Special to the Post-Gazette Michaelene Ressler, left, is embraced by Mary Ann Clark at a vigil on the one-year anniversary of the murder of Blairsville dentist John Yelenic. Ms. Clark was Dr. Yelenic's cousin. Mrs. Ressler's husband, Dan Ressler, was a college friend of Dr. Yelenic at Juniata College. The Resslers live in Manasssas, Va., but they made trips to Blairsville to keep Dr. Yelenic as their dentist. Click photo for larger image.

BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. -- Old friends who came from as far away as California gathered last night to pray for justice in the unsolved killing of Dr. John Yelenic.

About 130 people stood in front of the house where he died one year ago. They sang hymns, lit white candles at dusk and worried that the case may have turned ice-cold.

Somebody attacked and killed Dr. Yelenic, a Blairsville dentist, on April 13, 2006. He bled to death, relatives say, after the killer cut his throat.

The pain of losing him remains fresh for his friends, who described Dr. Yelenic as smart and kind to a fault.

"It was a joy and a privilege to know him," said Maggie McCartin, who traveled from Los Angeles for the vigil.

Dennis Vaughn of Winchester Va., a classmate of Dr. Yelenic's at Juniata College, said the past year has been filled with pain.

"I haven't dealt with it any better today than the day I got the phone call," he said. "I need justice. We need justice. More important, John needs justice."

The Rev. Mark Woomer of Monongahela, another college classmate of Dr. Yelenic's, said what was on the mind of many.

"We are discouraged that the perpetrators have not been caught. We are angry."

He encouraged Dr. Yelenic's friends to rely on their religious faith to tide them over as they await justice in the courts.

The last day in Dr. Yelenic's life started as a happy one. He had set up an appointment for the following day to sign and notarize his divorce papers, which would have ended a bitter four-year dispute with his wife, Michele. He died hours before the appointment.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett recently took the Yelenic case from the Indiana County district attorney, who said he did not have the resources to see it through. An investigator from Mr. Corbett's staff met privately with Dr. Yelenic's friends and relatives yesterday, assuring them every effort is being made to identify and arrest the killer.

Friends say it can't happen soon enough.

"We're worn out by being saddened by these events," Mr. Woomer said.