New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
WRAPPED IN DADDY’S LOVE
A teddy bear made from slain father’s shirt among the ways Westies have rallied around family
WEST HAVEN — Lindsee Baez felt unsafe in West Haven after her fiance was killed on a city sidewalk in October, so in the midst of heartbreak she moved to another town with their 5-year-old son Nikolaos. But it was Westies who touched her heart the most this Christmas season by showering Nikolaos with gifts in a year he missed his father so much that he asked if he could text pictures of the gifts to heaven. They may even move back to the city someday. “They call it the friendliest city in the state. I didn’t feel that way on Halloween, but I feel it now,” said
Baez. “He’s 5 so the Christmas magic was there for him. I’m really blessed. I wasn’t expecting so many strangers to reach out to me. It’s really amazing the amount of love I felt.”
As “Niko” — Nikolaos’ nickname — waited in his Halloween costume for his father to take him trick-or-treating, Fernando “Chino” Rivera, 35, was attacked from behind on the corner of Washington Avenue and Elm Street in what police called a “serious assault.” He died later from a neck injury at the hospital.
Terence Johnson, 18, is charged with murder and being held in lieu of $1 million bail. Johnson pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a probable cause hearing. It still hasn’t been determined what motivated the alleged attack.
Baez said Rivera, her partner of 16 years, was a dedicated father from day one, who took care of Niko while she worked and did everything with him, as they were inseparable. Baez said she previously had been told she may never be able to have children, then Niko came into the picture 10 years into their relationship. She said Rivera was a friendly, caring man, who loved striking up conversations with strangers everywhere they went.
The family lived in West Haven by design, as they loved the community and Niko was involved in all kinds of sports and activities. But the killing made Baez fear for their safety, so they moved soon after to another town and have heavy security.
In a fateful twist of events, the community came to embrace Baez and her son in the aftermath of Rivera’s death. Following the stabbing, which took place in front of a building with a 9/11 memorial mural painted on it, someone spray-painted memorial graffiti for Rivera on the mural and sidewalk. The mural, by artist Fred Carrion, had become a treasured part of the city’s landscape since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The family had nothing to do with the graffiti and despised the vandalism — as they said Rivera would have despised it — and in their grief wound up helping in a successful community effort to restore the mural. Those involved in the restoration project came to embrace the family.
Once the mural was restored, a mural restoration Facebook page that had been set up by city resident Sonni Ramiu became the “West Haven’s Christmas For Niko” page.
Ramiu said they set up the quiet drive because they learned during the restoration project that Baez and Niko were suffering financially with the move and emotionally because of Rivera’s death.
“We really felt like taking that strain off of her in providing for her son for the holidays,” Ramiu said. They “lightly mentioned” it on the mural page and it got positive responses. When they moved the page to “Christmas for Niko” they collected around $500 in cash donations as well as some gift donations. Most of the donors were those who had helped with the mural.
“Niko’s mom Lindsee and Chino’s mother were also very appreciative throughout and kept mentioning how much her son was looking down and seeing how appreciative and loving we all were to his family and she couldn’t believe how amazing everything was turning out,” Ramiu said.
Baez said she may move back to West Haven one day because she wants Niko to feel that Westie love that his father felt when they moved there originally.
“It holds a lot of good memories. I hope someday I can move back, “Baez said.
As a result of the Westie Christmas campaign, Niko finally got that hamster he always wanted — now named Princess Peach — with a colorful setup from the
West Haven Fire Department union, an electric scooter, in large part through a generous donation from bail bondsman Joey McVety. He got Mario Legos, gift cards, and a pile of gifts from Matt and Caitlin Hyatt, as well as a gift card from Caitlin Ryan, a generous donation from West Haven 911 dispatch and much more.
McVety, who now lives in East Haven but considers himself a Westie, was thrilled to be part of a group helping the family, most importantly Niko.
“Suffering a tragedy so close to Christmas and also during a worldwide pandemic, we knew we needed to help,” he said. “As a Freemason and also as an almost lifelong resident of West Haven, I feel that it is my obligation to give back to this community in any way that I can. … The West Haven community always seems to come together in times like these.”
Ryan, who donated a gift card, said Niko is a “sweet boy” and Baez “a great mom” and she hopes more people each out to help them. She said while the fundraiser was a real Westie move, she personally viewed it more as “the right thing to do,”
“I wanted Lindsee to be able to try to enjoy Christmas with her son without stressing about presents and being able to buy a few things they might need,” said Ryan, who now lives in Milford but still considers herself a Westie.
“I can’t even imagine the thought of losing the person I planned on spending the rest of my life with and the father of my child so suddenly and violently,” Ryand said. “I lost my Dad very unexpectedly two years ago and it devastated me, but I at least had him in my life for 31 years and Niko had his father robbed from his life at only 5 years old.”
Firefighter Jonathan Drost, co-chairman of “West Haven Professional Firefighters Annual Holiday Toy and Charity Drive,” said they just wanted to help Niko and Baez have some sort of “normal Christmas,” and to be there with other assistance if needed.
“Losing a loved one is terrible enough in itself. Add the tragic and unfortunate circumstances (of the killing) along with the upcoming holidays and it just compounded the situation further,” he said. “By nature of our profession we are no stranger to seeing the aftermath suffered by families after losing loved ones. At the core, knowing what pain and sorrow they are enduring, we just wanted to do something.”
Drost said, “Say what you want about our city but one thing we know how to come together where there is a need.”
“Speaking with Lindsee, she mentioned moving to West Haven to feel safe and be a part of a community. I felt terrible to hear the first half is no longer true but the weird part is through the tragedy she saw the community rally behind her,” he said.
Baez posted this thank you, in part, on the Christmas for Niko Facebook page: “I can never truly explain how much your love and support during this time has meant to me. … Although we no longer live in West Haven it will always hold some of my most favorite memories and you guys just added another to the list. I love and appreciate all of you!”
Niko had a joyful holiday, but the boy is struggling with grief and seeing a therapist. Baez has a little memorial set up for Rivera and recently “caught him” looking at the pictures, “his little shoulders shaking” as he cried.
“It broke my heart,” Baez said.
Every day Niko says a prayer. Familiar with a children’s book about sending balloons to heaven, he has asked Baez to put enough balloons on his bed so he can go to heaven and play video games with his father. He’s also asked, “Is there Wi-Fi in heaven?”
She struggles to explain to Niko what happened and why, in a kid -friendly way.
“How do you explain a kid-friendly version of that? I have to put my grief to the side and fake it while I make it,” Baez said. “I don’t want him to be jaded or afraid.”
While Baez works full time, she is also for a second job to do at home and is attending school for her bachelor’s degree.
She has an associate degree and, as a former fan of murder mysteries, was going to go into criminal justice, but that’s off the table now.
“I don’t want to trigger myself,” Baez said.
Her new year likely will involve attending court dates to see justice is carried out in Rivera’s death.
“I want to fight for justice. … His story isn’t going to be a docket number,” Baez said.
“I’m walking around with half a heart and my sons heart is completely broken,” Baez said. “We are just taking it minute by minute. Our sense of security is gone.”
Baez is not asking for donations, but a fund has been set up for Niko’s education. Anyone interested in donating can mail them to Lindsee Baez, P.O. Box 8746, New Haven CT 06532 or put in a Venmo at username “Nikos Future” under Nikolaos Rivera Savings Fund.