Father of homicide victim says she probably knew killer

The father of a slain Quincy woman found ablaze Monday night in a desolate field in Wilmington said yesterday that his daughter most likely knew her killer.

"There's a real psychopath out there, and that person needs to be caught," John Oliverio, 43, said outside the Quincy house where his daughter, Danielle , 25, was raised.

"It's unfortunate that Danielle ran into him," he said.

Oliverio did not explain why he believes his daughter knew the person who killed her.

Danielle Oliverio , the mother of a 10-year-old boy, was last seen in Chelsea on Monday, authorities said. Hours later, at 9:11 p.m, Wilmington police responding to a report of a brushfire near 200 Ballardvale St. discovered her burning body behind a vacant warehouse, near a frozen pond and an expansive field where employees from a nearby business complex often go on lunchtime walks.

John Oliverio said he last spoke to his daughter about two days before she was found dead.

"She said she was going to hang out at her grandmother's house," Oliverio said, his body trembling. "And she wanted me and her son to be there with her."

Oliverio said that his grandson lives with him and that he is the boy's legal guardian.

On Tuesday night, police released to the public a description of Danielle Oliverio, including what she was wearing, in an effort to identify her. The medical examiner has ruled her death a homicide, but did not give the cause of death. State Police assigned to the medical examiner's office were able to identify her body through a fingerprint analysis, and yesterday authorities released a brief statement about the case, along with a photograph.

Detectives with the Wilmington and Chelsea police departments declined to give details about the case, referring all questions to the Middlesex district attorney's office.

"This continues to be an active homicide investigation," District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said. "We also continue to seek any information from the public on the circumstances of the victim's death or on her whereabouts in the time leading up to her murder."

In the photograph, Danielle Oliverio looks straight ahead, casting a sullen gaze, her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.

John Oliverio said his grandson has become increasingly curious about what happened to his mother after he viewed a television news report and heard her name.

"It's been hard," Oliverio said. "He's a very intelligent kid."

Oliverio described his daughter as a family-oriented woman who loved music, especially the rock band Pink Floyd. She attended Quincy High School but dropped out when she became pregnant. She then joined the Quincy Teen Mother's Program. Several years ago, he said, she was devastated by the sudden death of her son's father.

"Since that happened, she's been lost, and it seemed like she was chasing to be with him," said Oliverio. "My daughter, she did want to get her life back in the right direction."