Chiara Levin, 22, of Danville, Ky., pronounced dead at Boston Medical Center; shooting occurred outside a late-night party. Police do not think Levin was the intended victim. Man in car also shot; not seriously.
Visiting Ky. woman slain outside party. Police are investigating whether the shooting of another person (he lived) is related.
Geneva Ave. and Westville St.
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Comments from Boston Crime
By adamg
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 9:14pm
Sad story but why does this white girl get more attention for being killed than all the other boston murders? ever since her being shot now the city is allowing "Guardian Angels' to try and prevent crime.. where was that strategy when the other 13 murder victims were killed...???
kaucion on March 30, 2007 02:50 PM
WOW!!! So typical to say something like that: posted by kaucion on March 30, 2007, "white girl gets more attention"....what a disgrace-seriously!!! listen "kaucion", get educated, get some knowledge, stop the ignorance!!! Who do you think is trying to solve these crimes??? who is patroling the streets, risking THEIR lives?? who are these guardian angels and what color is the majority of all these people??? WHITE!!! really, enough of the black people blaming whites for everything--grow up!!!!
maryann on March 30, 2007 11:14 PM
if my comment is not posted, i will make a BIG DEAL of this racism.....
i am not an angry person. i simply am doing some research and the first thing i read is something racist towards white people!!!!!!
and as usual it is allowed to be heard without anyone speaking up!!!! sorry to say, but it must be a black person or someone from the suburbs that owns this blog and/or "ok's" the comments to be posted.
ok, we'll see.
on March 30, 2007 11:22 PM
it's really sad all of these shootings are happening. but why would someone put the color of ones' skin as the main point of their comment???
on March 30, 2007 11:58 PM
You know, I am black, and Chiara was a friend of my family. My brother's "little sister". She wasn't black, but she was an amazing person. I think that part of the reason that Chiara's death finally made a difference in that community was because of the response of the many people that loved her. Chiara was smart, kind... I never met another person with a heart like hers. I love her just as much as many others do. She wasn't even from Boston. If she was the first to die, her death may not have received much media attention, but she was one of many, and maybe, just maybe, her death was the last straw in that community. Her mother told my brother not to let Chiara's death be for nothing, and I dont intend to. I am sorry that Chiara had to die, but I am glad that God saw fit to use her death to stir the hearts of the community to protect those who are still living. She may be a white girl, but her blood ran just as red as any other who had recently died in that community. I am just sorry that so many had to die before a change was made.
Latina on March 31, 2007 09:34 PM
I am not a racist person but there is racism that still exist amongst us,whether you want to believe it or not. It is still an issue between white and black but people will try and cover it up. no one can stop an contemplated murder or an accident you can try but what are your odds of really succeeding. like kaution said, what happen to the other thirteen murders ooh excuse me fourteen murders. what the hell makes her so different from the fourteen families that mourn for there loved ones. she's white!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yes that to Maryanna we live this murder life every day!!! it's about here and now. if you were born and raised in from the suburbs that could be the reason you think life seems sweet.
no candy coating on March 31, 2007 11:55 PM
Latina is correct Chiara's death should not be for nothing and neither should the death of any other victim. No Candy Coating asked why is her death so different. The answer is that the people that Chiara touched will not allow her memory to die. If you want all the victims to be remembered as we will remember Chiara then standup for each and every victim. Tell the families that their neighbors will stop the violence. That drugs and guns won't be tolerated by anyone regardless of color. Tell your politicians that every life has value and that we as a community will turn in anyone who carries a gun and threatens the safety of our families.Tell society that innocent blood is no longer acceptible in our neighborhoods, communities or cities. Tell the thugs that their kind is not wanted.
Celeste C. Pacifico on April 1, 2007 04:26 PM
first of all i live in the area where chiara levin was killed i walk by the house she was murdered at everyday. ever since then, i been reading newspapers, they r blaming and bashing my hood for killing an "innocent woman"... you act like she was the only woman to be innocently killed. im not saying she deserved it or being racist but why so much attention? y is so much action is being done now? why all of a sudden people wanna end this violence. you do the math and tell me how u see it. as i see it a white innocent woman was murdered and now boston wants to FINALLY do something about it...
kaucion on April 2, 2007 02:44 PM
lets all be honest here.who is doing the majority of the shooting in boston these days? i would say young black males.you want it to stop deal with them.if it takes stopping and frisking then so be it.id rather have a cop stick his hand down the front of my kids jeans then have some kid from two streets over put a bullet in his head because he is from another street.start snitching and stop shooting.
bostnkid on April 2, 2007 03:17 PM
hey kaucion where were you when that triple murder happened at the rap studio in dorchester last year? was there no outcry then about stopping the violence? what about the kid that helped bring the truce between the warring cape verdean kids? did no one care then? every couple of weeks some poor dumb kid gets smoked for standing on the wrong corner and nobody cares? you wanna know who doesnt care? the people who know that wont tell because they would be a snitch and "no one helps police" am i wrong? i know plenty of cops and detectives and believe me they care.a lot. and they cant get anyone with enough balls to step up and talk.i dont care if your white black cop badguy.stop killing each other! grow up. this isnt boyz in da hood. its the real world and real people are dying.
bostnkid on April 2, 2007 03:24 PM
You are correct, her murder is getting more attention because she was white.
Her murder is also getting more attention because she did not live in that community.
If a white girl from that neighborhood was murdered, it would not get the same amount of publicity. If a black girl from New York was murdered, would it get as much? Probably not. But more so.
It is the combination of her being white, and her not being from that neighborhood.
truth on April 2, 2007 03:42 PM
A white attractive woman is more newsworthy, and gets more coverage than a young man of color. Jon Benet Ramsey's murder is a good example. And Maryann there are plenty of non-white people in Boston who are risking their lives for our young people in Boston. What Chiara and every other person lost to violence shares is that they didn't want to die in bloodshed and violence, and families and friends who will miss them forever. As a white woman who works in Boston and reads the paper every day anyone who pretends that the media doesn't treat victims of violence differently by race and/or perceived class is fooling themselves.
on April 2, 2007 03:55 PM
A fact that some posters appear to overlook is that this victim was visiting Boston from another city. Tourist + gunfire = media saturation in any city. Even more so if the tourist haled from the media capital of the world.
but of coruse, bc this is bosotn, its easier to boil it all down to "it's gotta be bc of race." The recent uptick in black-on-black inner city violence is a national issue, not just a Boston issue. Far better if this energy was expended in an honest, open discussion about what is driving the violence, and what can be done about it.
tenam on April 2, 2007 06:49 PM
maybe i came off to strong about being prejudice about her being white.. im not bashing her for her death like i dont care... it's just frustrating when all you hear is bad things about the hood... when a group of people does one thing then that whole neighborhood gets a bad rap even if you have nothing to do with it... i apologize to everyone if i disrespected the death of chiara Levin... you all made good points too... i was just mad at the fact that the media bashed my neighborhood and black people in general just because Chiara was murdered... all black people aint the same but i feel like the urgency and wake up call it took for chiara to have an impact on my community, should have been done when people lost their loved ones... but i never thoght this comment would cause such good discussion.. is there a way to start a site so we can hear other peoples opinions about this situation???
kaucion on April 3, 2007 12:41 PM
Posted by Latina on March 31, 2007 09:34 PM
... made the best point.. everyone should just leave it at that
1luv
-east ville on April 3, 2007 02:05 PM
The reason Chiara's death is getting more attentiom than the other victims killed in that area is because Chiara was amazing and lived for peace. It's disgusting to America that someone who embodied peace and love died in the messed up way that she did.
Chiara represented racial harmony through and through - and then you people are saying she's getting special treatment for her race? That's the most disrespectful thing of all. And the opposite of what she was about.
LeeLee on April 3, 2007 07:43 PM
Remember the killings in CO when the two guys walked in the school and started blasting people? Remember that? Of course you do.
That type of stuff happens ALL THE TIME in the USA but it's amazing how that case got a LOT of attention. Why is that? Common sense.
Top Dog on April 4, 2007 04:55 PM
what are you talking about topdog? do you think if two black kids walked into madison park and shot 25 other students it would not be a big story?
bostnkid on April 5, 2007 03:51 PM
Chiara is my best friend. The Levin family embodies the ideal non-racist family. Not once have they mentioned race as either a cause or blame for what happened to Chiara. I do, however believe that because she was white, the media has jumped on what happened to her. I believe she would recognize that if she were still here today. However, regardless of the reasoning behind covering Chiara's murder, shouldn't we all be happy that the surge in violence in not only that neighborhood, but in America at large, is getting attention?
No matter what color we appear to be, we are all affected by gun violence in America. We need to all bind together as colorless humans to fight gun violence. It is, of course, completely unfair that other murders and shooting incidences have received less attention than Chi's.
Stop all your bickering and be happy that the media is working with us, and is certainly helping raise awareness for a problem that exists. Other murders have occurred in the same neighborhood as Chiara's. Can we work together to make her's the last? Murders from gun violence happen in so many other neighborhoods as well. Lets make them Stop!
Chiara was not deserving of this, but who is?
RobSu on April 5, 2007 08:38 PM
It is so unfortunate that someone could take this tragic situation and turn it into something so anti-productive. First of all, to kaucion and all others sharing his position, that is the most disrespectful thing I have ever seen. If you had ever even met Chi once you would feel horrible about those statements. The reason Chiara's death received so much attention is because of how many lives she touched. I can wholeheartedly say that Chiara Levin was the best person I have ever met in my life, and I know an extraordinate number of individuals who agree. These boundaries of race, religion, money, etc. did not exist to her whatsoever. Chiara embraced all types of people and always saw the best in them.
And I completely agree with Robyn in all that she said above. What does it matter what attracted the media, whether it be race, popularity, location or whatever? We just need to work together to make sure this does not happen to anyone else. Believe me, I am so sorry for all of the previous losses and I wish that more effort was put into stopping this violence beforehand.. Who knows, maybe some of these tragic losses could have been prevented? Either way, we need to work together, not against each other, to make sure that this violence is put to an end and no further innocent lives are shed.
ANI on April 9, 2007 09:16 PM
I am really good friends with Chiara's mother, Grazia. I never actually met Chiara, but I know from everything that Grazia has told me about her that she was an awesome kid. Their whole family is dedicated to peace and to have her taken like this is just unfathomably cruel. I really couldn't give a flying flip why her murder is getting so much attention. I'm just glad that it IS! Something good has to come out of it, and if we have a little less violence in our society because of it then Great! I just think its sadly ironic that people are talking about race in regards to Chiara seeing as how her mother is Italian and her father is Jewish, and from what I know of her family they consider themselves multicultural. I'm not mad at anybody talking about it. I guess its an issue worth talking about, but when you know the person, or in my case the mother of the person, it's hard for it to not feel kinda personal. You know? Oh well.
Deni on May 4, 2007 07:27 AM
i see alot of ppl have been feeling the same way i did. We may all be from the same hood but we dont all agree on the situation. True her case was broadcasted nationwide and they were quick to make an arrest. When others get shot in the hood, u read about it in the paper 1 day and the next day it's history. I agree all the publicity was because of who she was and anyone of you can come back at me with your comments it doesnt change how i feel or how i think. Look at how stupid these people are, at first they assumed the young man that walked into the hospital later was shot in the same car with her so they treated him as a suspect and not as a victim of crime. Thats sad..I lost so many close people to violence do you think the police treated their cases any different? yeah people in the streets talk about who shot who, but do you think the police buys their stories. Wheres the witnesses in this case, what made them come forward? what lead them to these 2 individuals? our city is screwed up in everyway possible it's not just the crime anymore it's the racist dirty people thats suppose to be helping us, but they pick and chose who they deal with, but at the same time make it seem like their really doing their job..bullsh**t
criola on May 10, 2007 04:11 PM
I do not know Chiara, and I do not need to know her to say that a life lost, of any innocent being, is a loss all the same.
However, I did read the paper with an article on her death. It said: "Girl full of promising life." As I read all of the above comments, I am sure Chiara was more than deserving of that title. She was young, intelligent, her whole life in front of her.
I think to be fare to Kaucion and to everyone who shares his position, it is neccessary to look at this issue with realism. Does race still matter in America? The answer, I am sure all of you would agree, is a resounding YES. Do people have prejudice and preconstructed ideas and beliefs about each other, even on a subconscious level? They do.
Well then, that helps to explain why the death of that african-american young woman who died around the same time as Chiara only got this title on the paper: "Victin number...". Did this girl not have a promising life in front of her? Does she not have relatives and loved ones who cared about her? Did she not have friends? Or was she just another number on the list of the black ppl that die in Dorchester daily.
Again, that is not to say that Chiara did not deserve that title, it's just that it emphasises the point even more strongly of where America stands today on the race issue.
Just lieten to the news, the paper...you'll be amazed how reality is construced around race...again even without open and deliberate intention.It's quite easy to say..." Get educated." You can get educated if you don't have to work to support your family, if you have a house of your own, and parents there for you. You can get educated if you enjoy a priviledge, that believe it or not, may be rooted as far back as the years of slavery.
People just need to be a little more critical and a little more questioning of the positions that they so strongly defend.
I am white, and I live in Dorchester, but when I tell my friends in the suburbs to come over, their parents are reluctant to let them. I would tell THEM to grow up, and get out of the shell called the Suburbs and learn about the place...real ppl live there and real ppl raise their children there...it is not a jungle...Don't just devour whatever the media feeds you.
My respects to Chiara's family and friends.
hybrid on May 10, 2007 04:12 PM
Stop the black kids from killing each other. Then we will talk about racism.
SouthieKid on May 17, 2007 02:19 PM
this girl did get a lot more attention because she is white. dont mean any disrespect at all.... just saying lots of black kids are getting killed in this neighborhood as well as the Bury and nobody puts up a stink except for the families. im white and i can see the difference. the DOT is rough area and a small town kentucky girl really had no business coming so deep into dorchester, nothin good happens around here at night.
micky o'leary
Ashmont, Dorchester MA
on May 25, 2007 05:56 PM
Hey, I am a mixed race girl (half black n white), honestly, well in my point of view I think some of you are talking non-sense. Lets be realistic, I am not being racist or anything, black people could do something out of their lives instead of killing each other and complaining about other racial being racist, fucken hell get over it, you will never see a white bloke killing another white, it is rare but it is common in black people. I have been to St. Louse once, and honestly it was one of my worst week their, you actually see little children, youth and adult carrying guns, knifes, sniffing stuff, smoking weed yeah they think it is OK, because they see their parents doing it and most probably DADDY is a drug dealer and MAMMY a is prostitute and kids do what they see in TV, rappers showing off with their guns, rapping about how many bitches they slept with or how many people they killed no that is not OK. You will see 13/16 girls who is pregnant, should not they be in school? When you ask her who the father is, she either does not bloody know or he is out hustling for money that is disgraceful, so I would not really blame white people at all. And speaking about racism I presume black people are the racist ones, you know why? Because I have experienced it.
anonymous on June 27, 2007 11:34 AM
its the media !blame the news reporters. the coverage brings pressure to law enforcment. you cant be that stupid people. the media has been misleading you for years!!
on June 27, 2007 06:00 PM
I didn't get to read everyones thought about this white girl from New York. I think the Boston Police Department did their job correctly with this murder case because one she is WHITE and two because the New York Police Department was on their ass and i don't think that's right. I believe that the NYP takes their job seriously, no matter if you are a drug dealer or a gang member, if you are murdered they will do their best to solve it. On the other hand i believe there are alot of bad cops on duty that are just working to get their pay check and don't care about all these boston residents that are being murdered. Another thing i believe that there are more people that are becoming cops to protect their family. My cousin was kidnapped, then murdered last year and the cops haven't done anything. The same BOYS that committed this crime and God knows how many of them were involved are still riding in the streets like nothing happen. What is the police waiting for, for people to take it into their own hands. I swear that i believe they are people working with police that are committing alot of crimes. I am so mad at the BPD that i can't even finish what i was going to say.Believe this God don't like UGLY.
anonymous on July 20, 2007 02:54 PM
Whatever!!!! Her story did get attention because she was white!!!! it wasn't because her friends and family are willing to fight for her. Plenty of people around the way are willing to stand up for family members that have been murdered but you know why they don't??? Because the system doesn't protect them when they are willing to testify and it (system) has so many loopholes that they eventually will let the killer go. These people have to live in these neighborhoods and there is more of a chance for them to be retaliated against, then this girl's family and friends. I don't mean to sound insensitive but some of you act as if racism doesn't exist. Someone made a good point with the Ramsey issue because if you research, you will find that another little girl was kidnapped and murdered around the same time as JON-Bonet but because she was black and from an urban community it never made headline news.
on July 28, 2007 08:57 AM
I was born in Dorchester but grew up in ireland and have lived in London for 11 years now. We have similar problems here with gun and knife crime amongst the youth. In fact it has reached epidemic proportions this year with victims getting younger and younger. Whatever way you look at it the vast majority is black-on-black and being an almost everyday occurance obviously does not attract as much publicity than if a white person is shot or stabbed by a black person. This is the same in Boston and even america in general.
My mother and father spent nearly thirty years in Boston between them until 1979 when we returned to Ireland. They returned to Boston (with myself) in 2005 and could not believe how run-down and dangerous Dorchester has become particularly from Fields Corner to Columbia station (JFK U MASS). Even Lower Mills (where they lived for the most part and had a good name back then) is now unsafe?
I spent a few months in Dorchester last year and did not feel at all safe walking down some parts of Dorchester avenue even in the day. Shawmut station in particular is a no-go area even in the day.
I think the Chiara Levin case is very very sad and tragic. She happened to be in the wrong neighbourhood at the wrong time. Surely her being an american would have known that Dorchester never mind Geneva Avenue after dark is a no-go area unless you know exactly where you are going - particularly if you are white?
The sad thing is that these bastards do not care if they kill innocent men, and even women and children in their pursuit of a deadly rival.
Life today counts for nothing but revenge is everything.
BILLY on August 24, 2007 01:47 PM
know Chiara personally from child hood on up i know that anyone as distinguished as she would be just as talked about. you can not simply say it is racial, because people like her make such an impression on the world and the people around them that color, creed and so on makes no difference. it is not that others are not missed and did not make an impact but Chiara had so many friends in so many places around the world and showed so much promise, that it is impossible not to notice.
stella on November 5, 2007 11:36 PM
London as danderous as dorchester??? lmao!!!! you gotta be kidding me... London is nothing compared to dorchester.. Eventhough Chiara was an innocent victim... wtf was she doing at a party on geneva ave. ne ways??? i live in the neighborhood where she was murdered, and have NEVER seen a white girl there ever... its sad but then again that's the hood...
cal on November 6, 2007 01:48 PM
Okay people. A life lost, black or white is a terrible thing. We all know that. I'm reading about black people being racist and white people being racist. Truth is . . . we ALL are, whether we come to terms with it or not. Come on, keep it real! Growing up in the Boston area as a multi-mixed-race person, I have seen it all with my own eyes. White people, when they THINK i'm white speak to me differently than they would have if they knew I was black (society dictates I have to pick a race so I choose black, esp. since no white people would EVER consider me white - sad but true), some black people have told me i'm not black enough, but oddly enough, they still accept my "blackness" and can accept my multinationality for what it is and move forward. However, I haven't reached that point yet with white people. I think they still hold steadfast to the "one drop" theory and any other race mixing somehow unpurifies me, no matter how white I look. Dig that! My point is this, everybody is judged in some way or another. So, on the days I "look white" and speak un-ebonically, I can "pass", on the days I don't "look white" i'm considered latin, but when I open my mouth and speak the truth everybody knows that i'm ME! Do I go out of my way to cross the lines and pass? No. But the one thing I do is learn very quickly about another person on the way they try to judge me based solely on what they perceive as being my racial makeup. With that aside, how about we ALL stop the senseless violence and over-reported black on black crime? People of color, wake up and learn that society and the media are dictating our lives by sensationalizing every negative aspect of our lives, while not putting enough attention and focus on all the positive things that we try to do. Let's start a new war, WAR ON NEGATIVE REPORTING! Let's start a new fight with a campaign for POSITIVE REPORTING. Are you doing something positive in your life? Make it known! Bring positivity to light to deflect all the negativity that is brought to the forefront. The more we put into negativity, the more problems we have. I know i'm so tired of defending my peoples and my cities when I hear another white person comment on all the violence and how black people are nothing but lazy, drug-dealing, gun-toting criminals. White people, learn to accept all people, because soon to come, there will be so many people of mixed race, that caucasians will certainly be the minority. Let's stop the old "slave" mentality and move forward to the current millenium of fairness for all, not just one race.
on November 6, 2007 05:25 PM
since wen is noticing that white people get more publicity an issue that we should grow up about? historically black people have been forced into ghettoization. this is from way back wen the bull weevel happened and blacks came up north. we were threatened and bombed to keep us out of white society and as time has passed that is why we continue to remain in the same neighborhoods with poverty and nothing but a whole lot of other black people. Prisons are filled with more than 1/2 of blacks? y is that? are black ppl naturally deviant or are we singled out? now u read a book maryann.
millz on June 5, 2008 11:52 PM