Family Of Slain NYC Schoolteacher Honoring Their Daughter With Charity Work
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The family of a New York City school teacher that was brutally murdered is taking action. They want to make sure their daughter's killing doesn't go unnoticed or unpunished.
The Mapes family of Staten Island is never far from their daughter, Simeonette Mapes-Crupi. Her pictures serve as reminders of a beautiful young woman who was taken too soon.
"It's hard, it is, she was such a good girl and I want everybody to know that," Theresa Mapes, the victim's mother, told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis on Monday.
It's been 10 weeks since Mapes-Crupi, 29, was stabbed to death in her Staten Island home. Her husband found her body in a pool of blood. It is a murder that is still unsolved.
"We had a beautiful daughter, inside and out, who didn't deserve to die like this, this brutal death. It was a brutal death," Theresa Mapes said.
"It hasn't made things easier, put it that way. I'm not sure when they even catch the individual, it would bring peace to us," said the victim's father, John Mapes.
What is bringing them peace is charity work being done in their daughter's name.
Handmade ribbons, flyers calling for justice and T-shirts for a memorial ride and rally helped kick off Cissy's Angels, a non-profit that Mapes-Crupi started in her school to help students go to prom.
Saturday's memorial ride will start on Staten Island, go across the Verrazano Bridge to Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn. It was one of Mapes-Crupi's favorite places and it's where her family will honor her life.
"The primary purpose is all of our family and friends and some of the students that Simonette taught want to meet and get together," John Mapes said.
The NYPD is still investigating the murder of Mapes-Crupi. Authorities have ruled out a home invasion.
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