Prayer vigil to be held for beloved Medford woman who was found dead outside her home

MEDFORD, Mass. — Friends, family, and community members will gather Thursday night at a prayer vigil for a Medford woman who was found dead outside of her home earlier this week.

The vigil for 61-year-old Barbara Novaes is slated to be held at Grace Episcopal Church at 160 High Street at 7 p.m.

A police officer found Novaes’s body in a recycling bin under the porch of her Emery Street home around 8:30 a.m. Monday after she was reported missing by her adult son, who was living with her, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan.

Novaes’s son told investigators that he had not seen his mother since the previous afternoon and thought she had gone to get her nails done.

There were no obvious signs of trauma on Novaes’s body, Ryan said, but investigators are treating her death as suspicious.

Novaes’s had tried to take out a restraining order against her estranged husband earlier in the month, according to court records.

Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn called Novaes a “beloved member of the community” and said she was active in her church.

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said Novaes had worked at Everett Co-operative Bank for many years and described her as “simply a wonderful person.”

Ryan asked anyone with information about the case to call Medford police at 781-395-1212.

An investigation remains ongoing.

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