Slain Peabody woman recalled

PEABODY – “I?ve been crying all day,” Kimberly Flynn, the mother of a mental health worker violently murdered just over a year ago, told a crowd, shivering in the frigid February night. “Twenty-seven years ago, Stephanie was born. It was the coldest day of the year.”About 40 family members, friends, co-workers and legislators gathered Wednesday night to honor Stephanie Moulton at a candlelight vigil held in honor of her birthday and the anniversary of her death. The group met at Buckley Field in Peabody, yards away from her former home.On the morning of Jan. 20, 2010, the recently engaged Moulton, who worked as a counselor at a Revere halfway house run by North Suffolk Mental Health Association, disappeared from her job. Around noon that day, her bloodied body was found behind St. George Greek Orthodox Church on South Common Street in Lynn. She had been brutally beaten and stabbed in the neck.View a photo gallery of last night’s vigil.Police arrested Deshawn James Chappell, 27, a Chelsea man with diagnosed schizophrenia and a history of violence, and accused him of abducting and viciously attacking Moulton.Flynn said the vigil was meant to honor Moulton and mourn her death, but also to ensure she wasn?t forgotten amidst the court system and legislative process.?With all trials and tribulations, Steph was getting lost in the shuffle,” Flynn said. “There?s no reason why she has to be gone and her name is gonna change things.”At the vigil, Moulton?s cousin, Deejay Novack Jr., 22, read a poem he wrote that described meaning to Moulton?s violent end.?I look up to the sky and ask God why – why did you of all people have to die?” Novack read. “We have to take her into our hearts and take her memory far.”State Rep. Theodore Speliotis (D-Danvers) and state Sen. Sal DiDomenico, along with representatives from the offices of Rep. John Tierney (D-Salem) and Rep. Steven Walsh (D-Lynn) attended the vigil to show support for “Stephanie?s Law” and other bills that are designed to make the workplace safer for mental health professionals.Vigils were also held simultaneously in Moulton?s honor in New Bedford and Springfield.Marcy Gelb of the Massachusetts Coaltion for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) told the group the most hurtful thing to hear is that workers like Moulton should expect risks on the job.Saying that employers should take all precautions, Gelb declared, “There are risks but? there?s nothing natural about someone losing their life in that circumstance.”Flynn urged the crowd to call on Gov. Deval Patrick and give voice to their cause.?Make his switchboard light up and (tick) him off a little bit because that?ll make me happy,” she said.Flynn said she realized she needed to take a stand for workplace safety after Moulton?s co-workers, “girls who were 5-2 or 5-3 came to her daughter?s wake.?The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I wanted to make sure no other mother has to endure the hell we deal with every day.”Flynn, with the support of the Human Service Workers Union Local 509, MassCOSH and numerous state lawmakers, has proposed that workers working in group homes like the one where Moulton was killed wear “panic buttons” that would alert the authorities they are in danger.?We?re not asking for a lot. It would cost $14.99,” Flynn said.Alicia Tobin and Chris Toseiseo, both 17, said they attended the vigil to pay respect to a close friend who used to baby-sit them as kids.?She was the type of person who, no matter who you were, she would try to help you,” Tobin said. “She always put you before herself.”?We just loved her. It wasn?t time for her to go,” Toseiseo added.Suffolk District Attorney Spokesman Jake Wark said Chappell is still held awaiting trial, and the court appointed him a new attorney, Dan Solomon, last month. The case is expected to return to court within 30 days and a trial date will be set at that time, Wark said.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].