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By Brian Hews
Friends, family members, and law enforcement officials attended a candlelight vigil Wednesday to remember the life of Denise Battey, a 50 year old Norwalk resident who was brutally slain while working in her beloved garden at her home on Allard Street last Friday.
Battey, who would have turned 51 this week, was remembered by her twin sister Anise as being “the kindest person on this planet.” It is believed by law enforcement investigators that she was tending to her side yard Friday when she was caught off guard, attacked, sexually assaulted and stabbed seven times by an unknown assailant.
The home Battey lived in and where the murder took place is located in a Norwalk neighborhood located just north of Imperial Highway. It is considered to be one of most established areas in Norwalk where as one neighbor told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper “everyone knows everyone else by their first names.”
Her twin sister, Anise Battey, said, “Her whole legacy was to make other people happy. That’s what she lived for. She was positive. She did not have a negative bone in her body. She didn’t even know what negativity was. And I know that everyone that’s standing here can vouch for that.”
More than 100 people attended the vigil. During the gathering, an emotion Norwalk Sheriff’s Captain Patrick Maxwell said that progress is being made in catching the killer.
“They are working the case very hard. And they do have a suspect. But at this time they aren’t releasing the name. They don’t want to compromise the investigation. They’re moving forward, even as we speak,” Maxwell said.
Several news media outlets covered the emotional vigil.
“All we want is justice in this case, no one should ever have their life ended so violently,” said one resident who lives near the crime scene who did not want to be identified.
“This has sent a shockwave throughout all of Norwalk,” the same resident said.
I just heard the news about Denise on the 11:00 news.
I met Denise at the ABC Adult School in Cerritos last September.
I had the honor of sitting next to her in an Excel class.
She was the most upbeat, positive and infectious person.
She spoke of all of her nieces and nephews with so much love and respect.
She was very involved in their lives and would do anything for them to help them fulfill their highest potential in life.
Denise volunteered a lot of her time helping high school kids keep on track and then prepare for college. I’m pretty sure that she did all of this no charge.
Denise had a lot of patience and encouragement for those of us in class who were not quite as quick to pick up the information being taught. She was often the one we would turn to for help.
I sort of thought of her as my personal little cheer leader.
I wasn’t working at the time we met (hence the computer class) yet she made me feel capable of doing whatever I wanted to do.
When I did find a job in late February and had to drop out of the 2nd class that we had together, she couldn’t have been more excited for me.
Even though they do not know me at all, please give my sincere condolences to her entire family. I know that there will be a big hole in their lives.
The world needs more people like Denise.
Amy Cymberg