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In many traditions, lighting a candle is a gesture of remembrance, of respect, of empathy, a way of keeping someone in our thoughts. Human violence is a monstrosity we live with daily and I believe we honor victims by thinking of them and acknowledging the pain they’ve been through.
Light a candle for Richel Nova:
Boston police have arrested three suspects who they say stabbed a Domino’s pizza delivery man and drove off in his car.
Two teenangers and a 20-year-old are charged with homicide in what investigators described as a brutal crime.
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said 58-year-old Richel Nova’s death “was chilling in its callousness and violence.”
CNN affiliate WCVB reported that the three suspects broke into a vacant home Thursday night and then made a call for pizza to be delivered, according to police.
When Nova arrived, he was stabbed multiple times at the kitchen door, police said.
… Friends told WCVB that Nova, a Dominican immigrant who moved to Massachusetts more than 20 years ago, worked three jobs to provide a better life for his son and twin 20-year-old daughters.
“It’s a shame,” friend Rafael Hernandez told WCVB. “You come here to change your life and do better, and that’s what happens to you.”
Michel Andre St. Jean, 20, Alexander Emmanuel Gallett, 18 and Yamiley Mathurin, 17 are accused of homicide, armed robbery and armed breaking and entering of a dwelling.
UPDATE: Cries break out during funeral for Richel Nova:
Mourners wailed and clung to each other for support as the late Richel Nova was honored in a small but intensely emotional funeral in East Boston this morning. Nova’s emotionally distraught twin daughters and their mother clung to each other for support. Hymns sung in Spanish were broken by wails and cries of grief from mourners.
Nova’s friends and family were joined by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Police Commissioner Edward Davis. Police had a heavy presence outside keeping intersections open as the funeral procession arrived and left.