Post by Joanna on Oct 14, 2013 17:41:48 GMT -5
Unsolved Murder of Teen Girl 'Haunts Us,' Says Mayor
More than 18 years after she was strangled to death, the city of Somerville, Mass., still hasn’t forgotten Deanna Cremin and officials have vowed to continue searching for information about her murder. On September19, Cremin’s name was added to Boston’s Garden of Peace, a memorial to victims of homicide, and on Oct. 10 the Somerville Board of Aldermen remembered the murdered 17-year-old with a moment of silence. “This particular incident is one that haunts us and is a cloud over the city because someone knows what happened,” said Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone during the remembrance.
Cremin, who lived on Jaques Street, had gone out with her boyfriend, Tommy LeBlanc, on March 30, 1995, but she never returned. Her body was found dumped behind an elderly housing complex two blocks from her home.
Katherine Cremin, Deanna’s mother, broke down on October 10 as she remembered her daughter as a “vibrant personality” [with a] “beautiful smile” who “had dreams of being part of the growth of Somerville by working with children.” She added that she’s been living a “nightmare” for the 18-years since her daughter’s death. “Every day her murder is fresh for me. How do we keep moving forward when we don’t know who did this and why?”
LeBlanc, who was a person of interest in the case, was never charged with the murder and hasn’t been seen in years. “For 18 years I’ve been told the investigation is ongoing,” Ms. Cremin continued. She believes someone out there knows something, saw something or has a tidbit of information that could help with the investigation. “I honestly believe you can make a difference in getting this crime solved,” she said to the public at large.
“We lost someone special in this community,” and “whatever we have to do, we’re going to do,” Curatone added. It’s an effort Cremin’s family and friends haven’t given up. Every year they organize a walk, retracing Deanna’s last steps from the night she was murdered, and symbolically walking her home.
Police identified three men as persons of interest in the crime: Cremin’s teenage boyfriend; a Somerville firefighter more than twice Cremin’s age, said to have been fixated on her; and a third adult man, later imprisoned at Massachusetts Correctional Institution (Cedar Junction). But no charges were filed. In 2005, Middlesex district attorney Martha Coakley announced new forensic evidence had been found with procedures unavailable in 1995, raising hope of progress in the case, but again no charges were pressed.
In 2009, current Middlesex district attorney Gerry Leone promised the murder would be solved, but law enforcement needed witnesses who had remained silent to come forward. The Cremin family has erected a billboard each year since her death offering a reward for information about the killer. The sign ends with: “You know what you did to me. How much longer must I wait! Please help make my time in heaven restful.” The reward has grown from $10,000 in 1995 to $20,000 by 2005.
Sources: Chris Orchard, Somerville Patch, October 14, 2013, and The Murder of Deanna Cremin.
