See No Evil – Profiles the murder of Amy Lord

4.5 min readBy Published On: February 21st, 2016Categories: Features0 Comments on See No Evil – Profiles the murder of Amy Lord

They are video clips none of us want to see again, but the captured images of a terrorized Amy Lord following the instructions of her murderer ultimately led to his capture and conviction.

Closed Caption Television (CCTV) or surveillance cameras positioned along the route driven by Amy’s murderer significantly contributed to the swift arrest and ultimate conviction of the career criminal. The horrific kidnapping and murder was so chilling it caught the attention of Investigation Discovery, and the story of Amy’s murder and the subsequent police work is the topic of Investigation Discovery’s second season show premiere of “See No Evil.”

See No evil will premiere on Tuesday, February 23 at 10pm.  The episode includes the first interview ever with Kayleigh Ballantyne, the Gates Street resident whose attacker was also Lord’s killer.

Amy was a 24-year-old South Boston resident whose abduction was captured by surveillance cameras all over Southie. Police discovered her bank accounts had been emptied, and later that afternoon, the worst was confirmed when her body was discovered in a nearby park. The heartbreaking CCTV footage led to the arrest of Edward Alemany who, hours after killing Lord, targeted Ballantyne in a random stabbing in the doorway of her own home. Ballantyne miraculously survived and helped put him behind bars. She has never told her story outside the courtroom.

London-based television producer Leah Cooper said Amy’s story is one of the more harrowing stories to report. “It strikes a chord in all of us – whether we live in Boston or London. Millions of young women go our their doors every morning to the gym. Amy is all of us.”

“The episode was produced with the blessing of Amy’s family and her sister Carly is interviewed. The rest of the family declined as it is understandably too raw for them. Carly is determined to keep the spirit of Amy alive and wanted people to know about her beloved sister and what a truly amazing person she was,” she added. 

The show’s producers were kind enough to give Caught in Southie a preview so we could promote this episode to our community. What happened to Amy must never be forgotten. The dogged and unrelenting police work of Boston Police Sgt. Detective Paul McLaughlin and Detective Jamie Sheehan is highlighted in the story. The interviews with both detectives are genuinely hard to watch – you can see the pain and regret in their eyes that they were not able to find Amy before she was murdered.

“These men are so inspiring,” said Cooper. “The passion for their jobs and the pursuit of an air-tight case against Alemany was of paramount importance to them,” she said. 

Set your DVR or watch it On Demand after it premieres, and then make a donation to “Amy’s Sparkle Park,” a playground built in her memory in her hometown of Wilbraham, MA. Send Donations to Wilbraham Friends of Recreation. P.O. Box 283, Wilbraham, MA 01095.

Q&A with Kayleigh Ballantyne, the Gates Street resident whose attacker was also Lord’s killer:

 Why participate in the show? How was it important to you?
I decided to participate in See No Evil as a spokesperson for those victims of random acts of violence and for the viewers to hear my story first hand.  Being able to finally express my side of the story and how much Amy affects my everyday life is something I was excited to share with the viewers.  I think being able to hear from a survivor is important to the listeners because it gives them an idea of what I went through, and that no matter the situation it can be turned into something positive. It all depends on what you make of it. 

After surviving a near death experience how have you changed your lifestyle?I try not the sweat the little things.  Having gone through a near death experience at such a young age I’ve learned to be more patient and calm with certain situations. Life can be taken away from you at a blink of an eye, and because of this I try to remind my family how much I love them as much as possible.  I also have found myself taking more precaution when being out at night for example holding my key end in my hand when walking, staying in lit up places, and trying to have a friend with me as much as possible.  However, I try to keep my life as normalized as possible because thinking of the situation only increases my anxiety.

How do you keep Amy’s memory alive?
 Throughout the trial the Lord family did a good job of depicting Amy’s vibrant personality.  I find that throughout the day I’m reminded of how much Amy is with me.  For a long time there was a lot of guilt that was carried with me throughout the day, and through therapy and different healing strategies I’ve been able to channel that guilt into a positive thought. I consider myself lucky to have an angel on my shoulder.  There have defiantly been incidences since the attack where I take a deep breath and have said to myself “Thank God Amy is watching over me”. And for that night of the attack, there was no doubt in my mind she was a part of the fight within me.   

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