There are many things that people don’t know about my relationship with Jennifer Martel, and many things they don’t know about the night of August 15th, 2013 when Jen was brutally murdered in front of me and her four-year-old daughter. Of the first, there is nothing in the world I can say and no need to prove how close I felt to Jen nor is there a need to reveal many of the other intricacies of her life that have never surfaced. As for the night of her murder, Marian Ryan has slyly suppressed many facts in an effort to save face and deflect the heat the DA’s office received after that fateful week.
There are many memories from those horrible few days that will stay with me forever, and many facts that I hoped the public would eventually be provided with. Like the fact that Jen was baking blueberry muffins when Jared attacked her, which the police found burning in the oven as her body lay getting cold outside on the patio. Or the fact that Jared threw her phone into a stream behind our apartments more than two hours before he attacked her, assumedly to prevent her from calling the police. Or worse still, that Jared stabbed Jen more than fifty times, with multiple knives, leaving more than twenty defensive wounds on her hands as she fought in vain to survive.
That night was a nightmare coming to life. I stood screaming outside my door, covered in Jen’s blood, long after the police came. They insisted I go to the hospital, to make sure I hadn’t been injured and to ensure that I was mentally ok after what I had just seen. Alone, with all my neighbors barricaded in by police tape, I had to wake my five-month-old son and take an ambulance to the hospital. There I sat for what felt like an eternity waiting for the medical staff to come and check my vitals. I was even still waiting to see if I could wash Jen’s blood off my arms while the police waited at the door to ensure I didn’t discuss what had just happened (because they already knew it was going to be a public case). My vitals were checked (with an very unhappy baby in tow) before they carted me back to the Waltham police station to obtain my statement. It was past midnight and I sat in a fluorescent lit interview room across a metal table from two detectives bouncing my five month old, fussing son on my knee as I recounted what I saw, trying to keep my composure.
There was no compassion and no understanding towards my circumstances. That night, it was just police protocol and routine but that is understandable considering the job the police needed to do. I was emotionally drained and still in total shock the next morning when I attended Jared’s arraignment at the Waltham courtroom. There I had my first experience with the ADA Lisa McGovern who I learned would be trying the case. That memory sticks in my head because for the first time since seeing Jen stabbed and punched over and over and watching her die as her legs gave way and fell to her sides, I was shown compassion and concern. Hysterical, sitting in the victim witness room at the courthouse, Lisa McGovern came up to me, and in the kindest and most concerned voice told me how sorry she was for my loss and how hard she was going to try to get Jen justice. For the first time, I felt some faith in the system, and truly felt that the ADA wasn’t making promises she didn’t think she could keep. She was genuine and understanding, and most importantly, she was kind.
I would love to say that I received this same reassurance three days later when Marian Ryan met us at the door of the DA’s office in Woburn where we went to review our statements and facts of the murder. This was not the case. The woman spoke no more than five words to us, coldly shaking our hands with a sour look on her face, almost like we were there for a business arrangement. That was the last time I spoke to her until the day of Jared Remy’s plea in May of 2014.
On the morning of Jared’s plea deal, the Martel family and my family gathered in a private room at the Woburn courthouse before filing into the courtroom. Marian Ryan came in and began in a very matter-of-fact tone, to politically state what was going to happen next. I asked if the public was going to finally get to hear what Jared did to Jen, as they would have had there been a trial. But the next thing I know, Marian Ryan ushered me into a tiny little room with a table with Nancy Sterling (the Martel’s pro-bono lawyer) and the victim witness advocate. Marian Ryan did all the talking. She started by interrogating me about what sort of press engagements I was planning on doing (I of course had not planned anything, nor had the thought crossed my mind). She then went on to tell me that if I WAS going to talk to the press, that I NEEDED to run it by both her and the Martel’s lawyer before saying anything. If I hadn’t consulted a lawyer previously about my rights as a witness, I would have genuinely felt coerced into silence by Marian Ryan. Then she had the audacity to grab my arm and say, “We all understand what you are going through.” By then, I’d had enough. I looked her directly in the eye and said through tears, “You have no idea what I am going through,” before standing up and leaving the room in tears. The victim witness advocate had to ask me if I was ok and if I needed tissues, offering me time and space to compose myself. I went into Jared’s plea with this terrible experience in the forefront of my mind. I felt used, lied to, and manipulated.
Still, I dismissed this experience off as a one-off personal issue and while I shared it with Mary Dunne - who I grew close to in the months leading up to May - during a celebratory dinner that night, I did nothing about it. But Marian Ryan has gone too far. After that day, she suspiciously withheld my 911 call while releasing the others from August 15th, claiming it was in my interest even though I was never asked or consulted about it. I know for a fact that what I say on that call points a finger at her office and I am certain that it was for that reason she hid it from the public.
Then it was revealed that she also withheld multiple pages of the independent report conducted about letting Jared go just two days before he murdered Jen. Since August 15th, I have lost my faith in my government and the process. It is worse still to think there are people in places of authority that use their position of power to manipulate, prevent transparency, keep secrets, and apparently reign terror on their direct reports. Why do I want people to know about Jen’s case, and my situation? Firstly, I want someone else in my position to be able to SAVE their friend, which is possible if they are educated about the situation I wound up in. Secondly, I want our apartment complex to take accountability for the fact that they let an extensive criminal live illegally in the complex for eight years exposing us all to a potential danger. Thirdly, I want the government to take a stricter approach on how they treat domestic violence cases. Fourthly, and lastly, because the attitude of blaming the victim NEEDS to change and people need to educate themselves about this very real problem.
None if this is ever going to happen if government officials care more about how they look than about the public’s right to know the facts. Otherwise what is the point of a democracy?
I don’t want any witness or victim to feel the way I did when I was face-to-face with Marian Ryan. As it is, life is hard enough after experiencing a violent crime. That is why even though I am over 1,000 miles away from Middlesex County and have sadly traded my MA voting rights for the Mid-West, I am still interested in the DA race. Luckily, contender Michael Sullivan provides a sound alternative to Marian Ryan. While not perfect himself (who is?), Michael Sullivan is a man of the people; kind, compassionate, and easy to get along with. This is SO important when dealing with victims and witnesses. His plan to transform the Middlesex DA’s office includes all the right changes that are needed to run a more effective, more compassionate, and more transparent office.
Some people complain that Jennifer Martel’s story is old news and that blame is being incorrectly given by calling for Marian Ryan’s removal from office. Jared Remy wielded the knife(ves) that killed Jen – I know, I was there – but it was Marian Ryan’s office that didn’t blink when they let Jared go. I, personally, am thoroughly convinced that Jared planned that night of his arrest to kill Jen so he came back to finish the job less than 48 hours later. It was Marian Ryan herself that denied any wrongdoing just hours after Jen’s death in a cold press statement. It was Marian Ryan who withheld implicating details in a report that said errors HAD been made. It was Marian Ryan that withheld my detailed 911 call and tried to coerce me into not speaking to the press.
Jen’s story may be more than a year old, but it is NOT old news. Each day, 3 women die because of domestic violence. Every year, 1-in-3 women homicide victims are murdered by their current or former partner. The domestic violence conversation should be at the forefront of people’s minds until public perception changes, and until our government does a better job of addressing and preventing such abusive behavior. And that starts with a new Middlesex DA: a fresh face that will help us fight the battle for Jennifer Martel and every other woman victim out there instead of just covering it up.
