Killing of 80-year-old lady should serve as clarion call

In a city where homicides and other acts of violence no longer shock the senses, the slaying of an 80-year-old, church-going lady has shaken Youngstown to its core. What makes the murder of Angeline Fimognari different is that it was committed in the fenced-in parking lot of St. Dominic Catholic Church, on a Saturday morning, after the victim had attended Mass. Indeed, Angeline, a prayerful member of the church on 77 E. Lucius Ave., practiced her faith through daily attendance of the 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. Masses. She obviously believed that St. Dominic and its grounds were safe havens.

We can only imagine her surprise and shock at being approached by a gun-toting assailant while she sat in her car, and then realizing that the end of life was near. The solace family and friends can glean from this act of unspeakable evil is that Angeline’s faith in God would have allowed her to die in peace.

That, however, should not be how the murderer leaves this earth, assuming he is charged, tried and convicted. The criminal justice system will afford him the respect as a human being he did not show the 80-year-old kind and gentle lady. The system will provide him with every chance possible to not only defend himself, but to take advantage of the slow-turning wheels of justice.

In cold blood

Angeline Fimognari had none of that. She was shot at point blank range, in cold blood. And for what? Her purse. Does anyone believe the armed robbery was a huge payday for the killer? He certainly could not have thought that he had found a rich mark. Thus the question: Why did he take her life? We can only speculate for the time being, but from what is known about the incident, the conclusion that can be reached is that the killer is someone with no soul and, therefore, is not deserving of the benefit of the doubt with regard to his humanity.

In celebrating Mass on Wednesday morning for Angeline, the Most Rev. George V. Murry, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, said in his homily, “We are all aware of our sorrow at the death of a kind and gentle woman who lived the Lord and this church of St. Dominic.”

But while the community mourns, it should also express anger, not only for the senseless killing, but for the crime epidemic that continues to afflict the city of Youngstown.

Recently, we applauded Mayor Jay Williams and his police chief, Jimmy Hughes, for the decrease in homicides and other crimes in 2009 compared with the year before. Perhaps we were premature in our applause. Thus far this year, Youngstown has recorded five homicides, compared with one during the same period in 2009. Why the increase? It’s a question the mayor, the police chief, the city prosecutor and other officials, including members of the county, state and federal law enforcement agencies should seek to answer.

On Friday, an 18-year-old suspect was arrested without incident.

While the mayor has insisted that the killing of Angeline was random and that stopping such acts may be impossible, in a city with an unacceptably high crime rate year after year such an assessment is troubling — even though it may be accurate.

The killing must serve as a clarion call to the authorities to crack down on law breakers and to get to the root causes of the crime epidemic.