Jassy Correia was last seen celebrating her 23rd birthday at Boston's Venu nightclub in the early morning hours of February 24. The young mother was captured on surveillance footage speaking with 32-year-old Louis David Coleman III before leaving with him in his red sedan. On February 28, Coleman was pulled over in Wilmington, Delaware, where state police found Correia's body in the trunk of his car. Coleman, an engineer and former Lyft driver, now faces a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death.
The Boston Globe reports that, according to an affidavit, investigators located additional surveillance video taken outside of Coleman's Providence, Rhode Island apartment that show him "engaging in highly suspicious behavior." After retrieving a blanket from inside, he returns to the car and carries Correia's limp body inside, placing her on the ground and dragging her into the elevator. The affidavit states that Correia can be seen wearing the same orange pants in which she was last seen and was naked from the waist up.
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On February 26, the same day Correia was reported missing my her family, Coleman allegedly purchased "three Tyvek suits, duct tape, two candles, electrical tape, a mask, surgical gloves, two pairs of safety goggles, an odor respirator, and CLN Release Bleach Bath." On February 27, he's seen on the same camera carrying a large suitcase that appears new with tags into his apartment; the following morning footage captures him wheeling the same large suitcase out of his apartment and hoisting it "with some difficulty" into the trunk of his car.
Later that day, he was pulled over in Delaware. The Boston Globe reports that when troopers asked Coleman if anyone else was in the car with him he told them, “she’s in the trunk.” Police found Correia's remains in the suitcase.
Jassy Correia is remembered by her friends and family as a devoted mother to her two-year-old daughter. Following the news that Correia's body had been found, friends set up a GoFundMe account to establish a college fund for her child which has raised over $100,000 in just three days. Many people have shared their condolences and memories of the murdered Dorchester woman on the page.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, reiterated the devastation felt by the community. “A horrible tragedy for the city of Boston, a young mother, a young life,” he said Friday before visiting the family’s home in Dorchester. “This young woman had a lot of ties here in Dorchester. She played sports growing up here; she has friends here; she’s raising a child … a little girl. It’s just really, really sad.”
The news of Correia's killing comes just a few weeks after 23-year-old Olivia Ambrose was kidnapped leaving a Boston bar and held for three days before being rescued by Boston police. Her alleged kidnapper, Victor Pena, has been charged with rape. Advocates for women's safety have been careful to note that while awareness of personal safety measure is important, the blame for these violent crimes lies with solely with the perpetrators.
At a "White Ribbon Day" event held at the Massachusetts State House on Friday, Suffolk County Prosecutor District Attorney Rachael Rollins, reminded attendees that, “Women should be free to go out and enjoy themselves and have a birthday party celebration without being kidnapped and murdered, quite frankly. We need to teach our young men about consent and we need to also make sure young women are aware of the dangers potentially out there.”