City, survivors tackle unsolved slays
An advocate for families of unsolved murders called yesterday a “surreal” day, as Mayor Martin J. Walsh, members of the police department’s command staff, DA’s office and activists met to talk about steps they can take to solve those cases.
Mary Franklin, who founded the Women Survivors of Homicide Movement after her husband, Melvin, was fatally shot in 1996, said that she and Walsh mended a lot of fences and that she “feels a part of the city now.” Melvin Franklin’s case remains unsolved.
“Today almost feels like justice for Melvin,” Franklin told the Herald. “I know you probably can’t understand that, but I’ve been putting my heart and soul into advocating for families of unsolved murders. Mayor Walsh and I have been, if you will, fighting this issue for four years. We finally sat in a room filled with important people and we were able to forgive and to let go. And to promise to work together. We’re not enemies.”
Though it’s unclear what specific exact action will be taken, Franklin said Walsh committed to creating a resource from the city, which will assist families of unsolved murder victims.
“Today, survivors have a voice in the city of Boston, thanks to Mayor Walsh,” Franklin said.
Danielson Tavares, the city’s Chief Diversity Officer who sat in on the meeting, said they had a “good, preliminary conversation” about what they can do to better connect with families of victims.
“As part of the mayor’s strategy with the new commissioner, we’ve looked at multi phases,” Tavares said. “Phase No. 1 is with cold cases. How do we step up the cold case, so you have more than a few officers looking at the thousands of unsolved homicides? I think we’re looking at a better plan of you know, as we have these homicides that are happening in real time, how do you keep the focus on homicides that have happened 10, 20, 30 years ago? How do you make sure that families have the information that they need? That the Boston Police Department has accurate information in terms of addresses, individuals, making sure that families stay connected.”
Franklin also said that Walsh supported her resource for women survivors of homicides who have PTSD, Trauma Spa, which uses methods to help symptoms, such as massages, acupuncture, aroma therapy, facials and chiropractic adjustments.
“They’re women survivors of homicide, and there’s hundreds of thousands of them in Boston,” Franklin said.