‘Empower and uplift’: Self-defense workshops for women held in honor of Vanessa Marcotte

MILFORD, Mass. — Free self-defense workshops are being held across Massachusetts in honor of Vanessa Marcotte, a Princeton woman who was killed in 2016 while out jogging.

This week, the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation is partnering with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office to host a free self-defense workshop for women age 16 or older.

While the workshop at Milford Hospital in Milford on Wednesday is full, other workshops have been held in Marcotte’s honor since 2018, organizers said. Information on future self-defense workshops and events can be found by visiting the foundation’s website.

“Worcester County is truly fortunate to have the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation serving its community,” Sheriff Lew Evangelidis said in a statement Tuesday.

“The partnership between the Foundation and the Sheriff’s Office continues to empower and uplift the women in our community through workshops and self-defense training,” Evangelidis said. “It’s a privilege to partner with the foundation and to host these workshops in honor of Vanessa.”

Since 2018, hundreds of women have received free self-defense training through the workshop initiative.

The hands-on workshops are taught by female correctional officers from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office.

Attendees practice realistic self-defense tactics, situational awareness, and approaches on how to handle a confrontation both physically and mentally.

On a summer afternoon in August 2016, Marcotte was jogging near her mother’s Princeton home when she was attacked, sexually assaulted, and killed, authorities said. Her body was found hours later, just a half mile from her home.

Nine months later, Angelo Colon-Ortiz of Worcester was arrested and charged in the 27-year-old’s death. He was sentenced to life in prison in October 2022 after pleading guilty to Marcotte’s murder.

Investigators with Massachusetts State Police took a cheek swab test from Colon-Ortiz with his consent when they went to his home in March 2017. His DNA, according to authorities, matched the DNA collected from Marcotte’s fingernails during her autopsy.

According to the foundation, over 600 women are assaulted each day, and “women need to be equipped with the knowledge to fight back and step up.”

The foundation in Marcotte’s memory “was created in her name to help prevent tragedies like this one from happening again,” organizers said.

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