Jassy Correia’s family, friends honoring her memory 1 year after her death

BOSTON — It’s been one year since Jassy Correia went missing after going out with a group of friends in Boston.

Correia, whose body was found inside the trunk of a car in Delaware, never returned home to her family and 18-month-old daughter.

“It was nerve-wracking, very nerve-wracking, I was very depressed, crying,” said Victoria Maestre, one of Correia’s closest friends and godmother to her child. “I was relieved that honestly that they found her, but not in the state that I wanted her to be in.”

Maestre put up posters with Jassy’s father on Feb. 26 after they reported her as missing, two days after a late night out.

“It was just like, a gut feeling,” said Maestre. “This is not her, there’s something wrong.”

Correia had gone out with friends to popular nightclub Venu, in Boston, to celebrate her birthday, when she got separated from them and got into a man’s car. That was the last time she was seen alive.

That man, Louis Coleman III, of Providence, would later be charged in her murder after being taken into custody on Feb. 28 following a multi-state manhunt for him.

US Attorney Andrew Lelling said the preliminary findings show Correia died from blunt force trauma and strangulation. Coleman was charged with kidnapping resulting in death, a federal charge that brings with it a penalty of mandatory life in prison, but officials have since been considering the death penalty.

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Investigators say they believe Coleman had Correia’s body in his apartment for nearly four days.

Maestre, alike Correia’s family, is still mourning the loss of her friend and finding ways to cope with the pain. Now, she tells Boston 25 News she’s trying to channel that pain into something positive.

“It’s been a little bit motivation because I knew that at the time she was working so hard to get an apartment for Gabby and her so I’ve made my motivation to do the same,” said Maestre.

She has since honored Correia’s memory with a tattoo, a shirt and plans on visiting her grave on Wednesday, which would have been her 24th birthday.

“Just keeping her name alive, bringing her cake, balloons,” said Maestre.

Correia’s family declined an interview, but say they are holding a special event in her honor for loved ones at the St. Peter’s Parish on Saturday.

Federal prosecutors are still working to determine if they’ll seek the death penalty for Coleman, Lelling said. There is still no concrete date for that decision.

When asked if she’s in favor of giving Coleman the death penalty, Maestre said she’s in favor of it, adding, “She’s so precious, she didn’t deserve that at all.”

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