Four years ago this weekend (July 23rd) a young, vivacious, generous and loving young woman was brutally abducted, robbed and murdered in Boston. There isn’t a resident in South Boston who doesn’t remember that day and the images of a terrified woman following the demands of a crazed lunatic who no doubt promised not to kill her if she just did what he wanted.
No one will ever forget Amy Lord’s horrific death.
I wrote about Amy and her family’s response to the South Boston Community two years ago, when that beast was convicted of her murder and sent to prison for life. You can read that story here.
After the trial I wrote to Amy’s family and a few months later received this touching response from Amy’s mother: “Amy had truly embraced South Boston as her new ‘Wilbraham.’ She could feel the community strength and loved that people were raising their families and building a life there. She had found a local mechanic, doctor and favorite coffee shop and bars. She loved Castle Island, their ice cream and walking around on Halloween and seeing the children. Our hearts are truly broken and we can never be the same without her but we always knew it was because of one evil man and one random act – never the community.”
Amy had a bumper sticker on her Jeep that was useful in the investigation – it was in memory of a childhood friend who had passed. Detectives were able to identify her car in surveillance video using the sticker. After her death, Amy’s family and friends created a sticker to remember Amy, a lover of all things sparkly. She was often heard saying “there’s no such thing as too much sparkle.”
Now, thanks to the work of the Boston Parks Department and the City of Boston Legal Department, a brand new bench sits at the newly renovated M Street Park (Medal of Honor Park) that is dedicated to Amy Lord’s love of sparkle. It simply reads: Every once in a while we get a moment when all the world needs us to do is just sit there and sparkle.” ~In loving memory of Amy Lord.
So take a stroll up to M Street, check out Amy’s bench and spread a little sparkle around the community. It’s what she would do.
That was a lovely article. Amy was a classmate of my daughter. We are still in shock and very saddened by her loss.