Vivek Saini had already booked a flight to return to India on Jan. 25. It would have been the first time he had returned home to see his family in two years.
Instead, he was buried that day in the northern state of Haryana.
“Right now, the future is all buried,” Saini’s 23-year-old cousin told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week.
Saini was killed Jan. 16 in a brutal attack at a Chevron gas station where he worked in DeKalb County. Law enforcement officials said security footage captured 53-year-old Julian Faulkner hitting Saini multiple times in the head, face and body with a hammer.
In the days leading up to the attack, Saini had shown his accused assailant concern and compassion, his cousin said. He remarked that he wasn’t surprised to hear that Saini had offered aid to the man, but he’s now struggling to understand why it ultimately led to his death.
Since May, Saini had been working as a clerk at the gas station on Snapfinger Road. The job was serving as a steppingstone for the 25-year-old. His cousin, who did not want to be identified for his privacy and that of his family’s, explained that Saini had hoped to eventually acquire his own gas stations before launching a more personal business.