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“No family should ever have to face a tragedy like this, nor the emotional and financial burdens that can follow such a sudden loss,” the fundraiser’s description reads.
Family members and friends are remembering the Danvers mother and nurse allegedly killed by a high school senior in a random attack last week, according to a GoFundMe raising thousands to support the family.
“Her kindness, presence, and love for her family left a lasting impact on everyone around her, and her loss has left an unimaginable hole in the hearts of those who loved her,” the description for the GoFundMe — which has raised nearly $50,000 as of Sunday night — said.
Janet Swallow, 68, was found dead in her home on Amherst Street in Danvers last Thursday afternoon, officials said last week. Anthony DeMayo, an 18-year-old student at Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody, is facing murder charges.
“No family should ever have to face a tragedy like this, nor the emotional and financial burdens that can follow such a sudden loss,” said the fundraiser, which has a $65,000 goal.
Swallow, a longtime Danvers resident, worked as a nurse at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, the hospital confirmed in a statement.
“Janet Swallow was a beloved and valued member of the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center community and she will be greatly missed,” Scott James, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, said in a statement. “We share our deepest condolences with her family and loved ones and her colleagues in the Nursing Department and across our hospital. Our thoughts are with them during this very difficult time.”
DeMayo was found in Lynn with what appeared to be a bloody knife last Thursday, and police took him into custody and to Salem Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He allegedly told police that he had “killed a woman in Danvers the night before,” prosecutors wrote in a court document.
The high school senior allegedly told investigators that “he planned on committing this act for a long time, and wanted to kill someone for a long time.” He said he broke into a house under construction in Danvers and stabbed a woman while she was sleeping.
Danvers Police Chief James Lovell said last week that Swallow’s two sons had been notified of her death.
“Thank you for your kindness, compassion, and support as we come together to honor the life of Janet Swallow and support the family she loved so deeply,” the fundraiser said.
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