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As Jassy Correia Laid To Rest, Community Remains Unsettled

Pallbearers carry down the casket of 23-year-old Jassy Correia during her funeral in Dorchester on March 9, 2019. Correia was kidnapped late last month and found dead days later in Delaware. (Quincy Walters/WBUR)
Pallbearers carry down the casket of 23-year-old Jassy Correia during her funeral in Dorchester on March 9, 2019. Correia was kidnapped late last month and found dead days later in Delaware. (Quincy Walters/WBUR)

As the pearl white casket with rose gold accents was brought down the steps of St. Peter's Parish in Dorchester, Jassy Correia's mother followed behind, wailing in mourning.

Scores of people, in tow, streamed out of Saturday's funeral service as the casket was loaded into the hearse to be transported to a private burial.

Many who came to the funeral didn't know 23-year-old Correia, who was kidnapped late last month in downtown Boston and found dead days later in Delaware, but some knew the pain Correia's mother felt: the pain of losing a child.

Donniel Strong said his daughter was the same age as Correia when she was murdered two years ago. They never found the killer.

"I'm always attending these [funerals]," he said. "When someone gets killed, I try to always attend the funeral. I may not know them, but I'll still come to the funeral."

Mourners gather outside the funeral of Jassy Correia. (Quincy Walters/WBUR)
Mourners gather outside the funeral of Jassy Correia. (Quincy Walters/WBUR)

Strong, who lives in Lowell, said the service for Correia "was sad." Unlike his daughter's case, though, there is a suspect in Correia's disappearance and death.

Louis Coleman, of Providence, R.I., is facing a federal kidnapping charge after Correia was abducted from the Venu nightclub in downtown Boston. Her body was found in the trunk of the car Coleman was driving, police said.

But having a suspect in custody wasn't reassuring for Dorchester resident Shaquia Bates. As a mother of two young kids, Bates said the hardest thing for her is knowing that Correia had a 2-year-old daughter.

"A mother should be able to go out and have fun. This shouldn't happen," Bates said after the funeral. "Whoever did this, I really hope they rot for this. Nobody deserves this.

"[Correia's] baby will never have a mom again."

Mourners gather outside the funeral of Jassy Correia. (Quincy Walters/WBUR)
Mourners gather outside the funeral of Jassy Correia. (Quincy Walters/WBUR)

Bates didn't know Correia in life, but felt she knew her after Saturday's service.

"She was always happy, she was always full of life," Bates said. "And she was an excellent mother to her child."

During the funeral, the family kept thanking attendees for their well wishes and emotional support, Bates said. A GoFundMe campaign for the Correia family has raised more than $145,000.

"They need our love," she said.

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Quincy Walters Producer, WBUR Podcasts
Quincy Walters was a producer for WBUR Podcasts.

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