Friends of Vanessa Marcotte gather for vigil in Leominster

LEOMINSTER, Mass. — Three days after a jogger was murdered in Princeton, family and friends in her hometown of Leominster gathered to remember her life.

Many people who knew 27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte and her family said they just can’t understand what happened and why.

"I haven't slept for two nights knowing the tragedy these people are going through,” Brenda Giambrocco said.

Marcotte was visiting her mother in Princeton over the weekend. Sunday afternoon she went for a jog and never returned home.

When police found her body she had been sexually assaulted and burned.

"I was a cop for 11 years and as many times as this goes thru my mind I can't comprehend it,” Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella said.

Even people who did not know Marcotte or her family felt a need to join the community at Wednesday’s prayer vigil and say farewell to an innocent victim.

"It's the vulnerability of someone going out for a jog, she went out for an hour and lost her life,” Cindy Trainque said.

Cox Media Group