Friends, Family Hold Vigil in Memory of Karissa Kunco

Family and friends gathered in Brookline on Saturday to remember Kunco, who was killed last year.

Vigil Held in Memory of Karissa Kunco

Family and friends gathered in Brookline to remember Kunco, who was killed last year.

It has been one year since the death of a Brookline girl who friends say could light up a room with her smile. On Saturday evening, as they did a year ago, friends and family of Karissa Marie Kunco gathered at the cannon monument on Brookline Boulevard to remember her. “We’re trying to do more on the positive side,” said Kunco’s aunt, Debbie Ryce. “A year ago today, God received an angel in heaven. We’re here to keep her memory alive and be her voice, and spread the message against domestic violence.” Kunco was reported missing on Jan. 11, 2012 when she failed to meet a friend in Castle Shannon to go tanning. Her body was found one day later, in a heavily wooded area near Westland in Mt. Pleasant Township. She was 21. Her estranged ex-…

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Family, Friends Hold Vigil on Anniversary of Teen’s Disappearance

Alivia Kail was last seen March 5, 2011.

A crowd gathered at the cannon monument on Brookline Boulevard on Sunday night to remember a young woman who has been missing for one year. Family and friends of 20-year-old Alivia Kail, who has been missing since March 5, 2011, held a vigil to remember her and spread the word that they haven’t given up the hope of bringing her home. “My hope for this vigil is that someone will just see this and be able to help, and know she’s out there,” said Kail’s mother, Christine Didiano. “At this point, we just hope someone will come forward.” Kail was living in Mt. Washington last year when she told her family she planned to move to Florida with her boyfriend. Kail, then 19, picked up clothes from her brother’s West Mifflin home on March 5, and hasn…

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Brookliners Hold Vigil to Remember Lost Friend

Friends of Karissa Kunco gathered in her hometown Thursday night, hours after her death, to remember her.

The usually bustling intersection at Brookline Boulevard United Presbyterian Church was quiet Thursday night, as a crowd gathered to honor a lost friend.  “People say things about smiles that light up rooms, but it’s the truth with her,” said Tom Pisano, Karissa Kunco’s former softball coach. Kunco, a 21-year-old Brookline native, was remembered in an impromptu vigil held by friends just hours after news of her death was made public. She was reported missing Wednesday night after leaving her job, and was found dead Thursday evening near Hickory in Washington County. Police are searching for Kunco’s ex-boyfriend, Jordan Clemons, who is wanted in connection with her death. He had not been found, as of late Thursday night. News of Kunco’s …

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