On Monday April 22, the Merrimack Valley Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children will hold their annual candlelight vigil. This year’s theme is “New Challenges/New Solutions.”
The event kicks off at the Lowell Senior Center at 5 p.m. with an array of informational booths from: Alternative House, the Center for Hope and Healing, Community Voices, Garden of Peace, Lowell Community Health Center, Lowell Police Department, Massachusetts Office for Victims Assistance, the Merrimack Valley Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children, Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, and Victim Compensation.
At 7:30 p.m., there will be a candlelight walk from the Senior Center to City Hall escorted by the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office’s Motorcade and Color Guard.
A speaking program, hosted by Mayor Patrick Murphy will then commence at City Hall. Speakers include: Lou Gosule, whose daughter Melissa was murdered in 1999, by a man with a lengthy criminal record. Her death prompted his 12-year fight to pass “Melissa’s Law,” aimed at keeping dangerous repeat offenders behind bars without the possibility of parole, signed into law last year by Governor Deval Patrick; Sen. Eileen Donoghue; Rep. Kevin Murphy, Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, Lowell Police Deputy Superintendent Arthur Ryan and Lisa Solecki from the Attorney General’s Office.
State Rep. Colleen Garry, Sen. Donoghue and Mayor Murphy will present special citations to Natalie Barros, of Tyngsboro, a fourth grader at St. Michael’s in Lowell, who raised enough money to send Kaitlin Roig and her fiancé on a Disney vacation.
Roig, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School, barricaded her students in a bathroom during the December 14, 2012 massacre, saving their lives.
Music will be provided by saxophonist Paul Belley and the Lowell High School Show Choir under the direction of Andre Descoteaux.
The Merrimack Valley Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children was founded by Arnie Muscovitz. His daughter, Karen, was killed in Florida in 2004 by her boyfriend’s mentally ill brother.
The POMC offers support for family’s of crime victims, as well as lobbies for legislation such as “Melissa’s Law” aimed at preventing new members from joining their ranks.
For more information about the Candlelight Vigil or POMC, contact Arnie Muscovitz at 978-452-5858 or amuscovitz@comcast.net