The family of a 23-year-old woman who was kidnapped after celebrating her birthday at a Boston nightclub buried the young mother after her funeral on Saturday morning.
Jassy Correia, who had a 2-year-old daughter, was kidnapped last weekend after leaving Venu Nightclub in downtown Boston after celebrating her birthday with friends, police said.
The funeral, which was attended by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh was held at St. Peter’s Church in Dorchester, according to the Archdiocese of Boston. A private burial immediately followed.
“May God give eternal rest in paradise to my dear Jassy. Rest in peace, my good child,” Jassy Correia’s father, Joaquin, said in Cape Verdean Creole and Portuguese, reported The Boston Globe. John Barros, a city official, translated his remarks into English.
The funeral was attended by members of the public, who were rattled by the randomness of Correia’s death. She was kidnapped and killed after leaving her birthday party at Venu nightclub on Feb. 23.
This week, federal prosecutors charged Rhode Island resident Louis Coleman III with Correia’s kidnapping and killing after police in Delaware arrested Coleman. Correia’s body was found in the trunk of his car. Prosecutors say Coleman did not know Correia.
Her birthday was Feb. 26.
Coleman, 32, was charged with federal interstate kidnapping resulting in death, which carries a mandatory life sentence. He could also face the death penalty.
The Boston City Council plans to hold a public hearing on nightclub safety in the wake of Correia’s death to discuss what Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George says are ways to “hold ourselves, our men and our nighttime venues accountable.”
However, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins told reporters on Friday that Correia “was right where every woman has every right to be — celebrating her birthday on a night out with friends.”
“Let’s not fall into a discussion about whether we should walk home alone or how many people we should call when we’re leaving the club,” Rollins said. “If anything, let’s remind the men in our lives that violence against women isn’t a women’s issue — it’s a problem that men take responsibility for in their lives.”
The cause of Correia’s death appears to have been blunt force trauma and strangulation, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling told reporters. There’s no indication that she was sexually assaulted, Lelling added.
“It appears she put up a struggle,” he said.
