< Back to front page Text size – +

Family, friends remember Hyde Park slaying victim

E-mail|Link September 8, 2010 02:05 PM

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino helped the victim's wife, Marilin Pimentel, outside the church.

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

Dozens of family members and friends gathered today at an East Boston church to mourn for Richel Nova, the 58-year-old pizza delivery driver slain last week in a horrific robbery in Hyde Park.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis also attended the funeral at the Most Holy Redeemer Church.

Menino waved off help offered by EMTs as he supported Nova's grieving wife, Marilin Pimentel, as she left the church.

Nova was a father of three, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who worked two jobs to support his children's college education.

The slaying rocked both the city and City Hall -- Nova's twin daughters graduated from Boston Latin School in 2008 and worked in the mayor's office for several summers.

Speaking to those attending, Pablo Guerrero, a friend of Nova's who grew up with him in the Dominican Republic, urged the family to stay strong and united.

Three people are being held without bail on murder charges in Nova's slaying.