Morris remembers its victims and their advocates

MORRISTOWN – Nineteen years ago, James K. O'Brien III and his family walked for the first time through the gleaming front doors of Deirdre's House, an advocacy center for child victims of crime named for his sister, Deirdre O'Brien, who was murdered in 1982 by serial killer James Koedatich.

"When we walked through the house that day there were a lot of questions. I know my Mom and Dad were thinking 'How are we going to manage this? How are we going to pay for this? How are we going to make this work?" O'Brien said Wednesday.

Living in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, the former Mendham Twp. resident was one of the honored guests and speakers at the Crime Victims' Rights Week Remembrance Ceremony hosted by Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and the staff of his victim/witness unit in the county Administration and Records Building.

The theme of the ceremony -- highlighted in remarks from Knapp, Deirdre's House Executive Director Maria Vinci-Savettiere and Roxbury Police Chief James Simonetti, president of the Morris County Police Chiefs Association -- was on dedication to victims of crime and the need to support the groups of people devoted to assisting them.

O'Brien told the crowd of more than 100 that the advocacy center, a non-profit with an annual budget of $550,000, has surpassed his expectations. He noted also the Dec. 26, 2014, death of his father, James K. O'Brien, who was a county freeholder and fought strenuously for victims' rights after his 25-year-old daughter's murder. One of the late O'Brien's greatest achievements was the passage in 1991 of an amendment to the state Constitution that recognized the rights of victims to be heard and kept informed.

Back in 1996 when Deirde's House opened, O'Brien said, "My wife and I were walking through and thinking 'Could this really be the good coming from the bad? Is this really the start of some happy endings, hope for a new day? Walking through Deirdre's House today it was obvious all those questions had been answered. Maria and her staff have taken Deirdre's House to a completely new level. They're in a financial place and a service place that I didn't think any of us could have envisioned in 1996," he said.

Vinci-Savettiere, the executive director of Deirdre's House for the past 11 years, said the success of the house has been based upon support from the Prosecutor's Office, county freeholders and financial contributions from community leaders and corporations like Merck, Novartis, Sanofi Aventis, and the Connell Co.

Deirdre's House is the only site in Morris County where a child victim can be interviewed and digitally recorded by police, medically examined and treated and clinically counseled in either English or Spanish -- all under one roof and free of charge, Vinci-Savettiere said.

"When children come to Deirdre's House they're in a dark place. It's our responsibility to gently reach in and draw them into the light," Vinci-Savettiere said.

She referred to the recent killing of 3-year-old Ty'mil Solomon, allegedly by his mother's boyfriend Maurice Pearson, in a motel room at the Knight's Inn in Montville. The child was severely battered by a belt and forced into a freezing cold shower on April 10 and died on April 13.

The poor economy, she said, has also led to some people taking in boarders, who abuse and molest children in the household. She emphasized the need for stable funding countrywide for programs and services that provide child protection.

"We have devoted billions of dollars to homeland security, and rightfully so, but what of the security of children in their own homes?" Vinci-Savettiere said.

Simonetti urged his colleagues in law enforcement to be sensitive to victims, assist them in getting services they need "to ensure we don't make them victims again."

Thanking the workers who nurture victims, he said: "Law enforcement gets alot of credit for solving crimes but it is your work diligently behind the scenes that help the victim."

O'Brien said that his mother Georgia and his late father would have been incredibly proud of how Deirdre's House has endured. The four-story house on Court Street is full of bright colors, toys and games for children, and examination and interview rooms that are painted and decorated with child-friendly colors and motifs.

"My father passed away after a long and full life, peacefully and quietly surrounded by his family. He's now reunited with Deirdre. Deirdre did not get that opportunity. Deirdre did not get that opportunity to live a long and full life. She did not pass from this world quietly and peacefully surrounded by people who loved her," O'Brien III told the crowd.

He said his father's life changed on Dec. 5, 1982 when Deirdre was murdered. The senior O'Brien pushed for the constitutional amendment and saw the creation of Deirdre's House, leaving behind "a legacy that lives and breathes and continues to give today."

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com.