FITCHBURG, MASS. (WHDH) - Family and friends attended a wake Monday afternoon for the young woman found dead after she went jogging last week in Princeton.
Vanessa Marcotte’s family reported her missing last Sunday after the 27-year-old did not return from going out for a run. Her body was found hours later in the woods just a half-mile from her mother’s house; sources told 7News she had burn marks on her head, hands and feet. Police believe Marcotte tried to fight off her attacker and have asked the public to be on the lookout for a man with scrapes and bruises.
Marcotte’s wake was held at Brandon Funeral Home in Fitchburg, where extra police stood guard outside as family and other loved ones arrived. A busload of Marcotte’s co-workers from Google in New York City also arrived Monday afternoon to pay their respects.Elsewhere, members of the community remain on edge as her killer is still on the loose. Leigh Hudson, an avid runner, said she just purchased Mace.
“We grieve deeply for the family because it really could be any of us,” said Hudson.
Princeton resident Ed Carlson said he wants to know why it took police several hours to alert residents that Marcotte was missing. Carlson said they get red alerts from police for bear sightings and road closings but said they did not know about Marcotte until her body was found.
Marcotte was a Leominster native who graduated from Boston University in 2011. She worked as an account executive for Google and was visiting family in Massachusetts the weekend she was killed. Her funeral will be held Tuesday.
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