A Mother’s Words: Remembering Joshua Larkin Beyond the Headlines

Rita Shipp
Jan 23
3 min read

***Joshua Larkin, who has been missing since November 17, 2022. His family continues to seek information that could help bring answers and closure.***

Editor’s note: The following statement was written by Joshua Larkin’s mother, Bev Larkin, and is shared with minor formatting edits for clarity.

I want to tell you about my son, Joshua Larkin.

Some of you have heard negative remarks being made against Josh by Cody Bierhalter. These are lies. Please consider the source. Bierhalter has been arrested for the murder of my son. He has no morals or character, or he would tell us Josh’s location.

Josh was born and raised in a strong, Catholic, faith-based home. During his elementary school years, he attended a private Catholic school. He later enrolled in public school and went on to graduate.

Photos provided by the Larkin family.

Josh played city league football starting at the age of eight and later played 5A high school football. During his senior year, he was also an assistant equipment manager for an arena football team, as well as a personal assistant to Kenny Stabler, an NFL quarterback.

In 2005, we sold our business and moved to Texas. My late husband dreamed of moving to Texas to retire, and so we did. Josh loved the move, making new friends and new memories.

Josh married and had four children. Along with his family, he moved to Galveston, where he worked for UTMB Hospital. Then tragedy occurred. His father suffered a stroke and became bedridden for nine months. Josh immediately moved back home with his family to help assist me in caring for his dad.

Josh went through a period of heartbreak and depression after his father passed away in 2016. During this time, troubles also erupted in his marriage, which ended in divorce. Josh was given custody of his four children, ranging in age from one to five.

During COVID, I suffered a stroke, but fortunately I did not have any permanent disabilities. Josh became my caretaker, as well as a hardworking dad providing a stable home for his children.

He always tried to do the right thing for his children and his family. During this time, his children had many accomplishments, including A and AB honor roll, student council membership, National Honor Society membership, and being recipients of Reader of the Month and Reader of the Year awards at the Kirbyville Library. They also won contests such as designing a school Christmas card and a school Halloween pumpkin decorating contest. It was important to Josh to provide a stable life for his children.

Josh was last employed with a company that installs electrical meters, where he was liked by his supervisors and co-workers.

I’m not saying Josh was perfect — who is? He didn’t see color, nor did he see bad in people. If he only had one dollar and you were in need, he would give it to you. Some people took advantage of that, and unfortunately, this led to his demise.

Josh did not deserve to be murdered. Cody Bierhalter is not only a liar, but also lacks the decency to tell us where Josh is.