Crowley 'Lives On' in Dedication of Trail in Her Memory

About 50 people turned out Saturday morning to dedicate a recently completed piece of the city's bike path in memory of a Peabody woman who died 17 years ago.

The 3/4-mile spur to the Peabody Independence Greenway at 545 Lowell St. was named in honor of Kristen Gove Crowley, a 27-year-old woman who was killed in a gruesome murder in 1996 just a short distance away outside her apartment building.

Crowley was pulled from her car in the rear parking lot at the Ledgewood condominium complex and dragged into the woods where her two assailants tried to rape her and then bludgeoned her to death.

The old rail line, which is now a recreational trail, actually runs right behind the complex and the area where Crowley was killed.

Mayor Ted Bettencourt, who initiated the plans for a dedication after speaking with Crowley's family, said the entire community was deeply affected by the tragedy.

“We wanted to create a place where Kristen’s family, friends and members of our community could honor the memory of Kristen’s life,” he said.

City officials, family and friends of Crowley turned out for Saturday's dedication. Bettencourt said he reached out to Keith Doucette, who knew Crowley's family well to organize the gathering.

“We hope the dedication of this portion of the Independence Greenway in Kristen’s name will reflect the very special place she still holds in the heart of so many,” Bettencourt said.

He added that the site --between the Hess gas station and the plaza on the other side -- was "an unsightly mess" before, but now is a "beautiful" spot that will be maintained and used regularly.

"She lives on," said Crowley's mother Susan Gove as she took the microphone to offer a few words. "The only message I have to say is that it's something you never get over, but learn to live with."

She also wished her daughter "Happy Birthday" -- Crowley would have turned 44 this June 12.

Gove added that if she "had the courage" she would venture up the trail to near where her daughter died and plant something in her memory.

Gove, John Crowley (Kristen's husband at the time) and Bettencourt then snipped the ribbon to officially open the path.

Bettencourt had a closer connection to the tragedy as well -- his father was the lead investigator in the case. "It was personal to him and to our family," Bettencourt reflected. "He was just one of many people affected by the tragedy."

Ed Bettencourt Sr. wasn't present on Saturday, but the mayor said his father thought it was a "wonderful" and "well deserved" tribute to Crowley when he told him about the plans for a dedication.

As for the bikeway, Bettencourt said, it has become one of the city's "treasures" and noted the city has been working on expanding the existing east-west trail from Lahey Clinic to the Middleton line.

The newer spur is part of a longer 2.8-mile line that connects up to the rail-trail in Danvers by Brooksby Village. That trail then runs into Wenham and Topsfield for a total of 7.6 miles of continuous biking, jogging or walking.

Bettencourt said the city used $50,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to do the site work at the Lowell Street entrance to the trail and install a bench bearing a plaque with Crowley's name. Northeast Nursery donated the labor for landscaping in and around the memorial.

Bettencourt said the city will eventually install lighting along the walls under the I-95 overpass to brighten the area and that portion of the trail will be paved as well.