Jared Remy's Father 'Heartbroken' Over Girlfriend's 'Senseless' Killing

Jennifer Martel, 27, was found dead on a patio outside her Waltham, Mass., home.

ByABC News
August 17, 2013, 10:41 AM

Aug. 17, 2013— -- Boston Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy said today the killing of Jennifer Martel, allegedly by his son, Jared, has left him and his wife "heartbroken" and filled with "disgust and remorse."

Police said 27-year-old Martel, was stabbed to death by Jared Remy, 34, who was her boyfriend. Martel's bloodied body was found Thursday night on a patio outside the apartment where she lived with her young daughter.

"Words cannot describe my wife's and my grief," Jerry Remy, whos is also a former Red Sox player, wrote on his Twitter account. "Son or not, I am at loss for words articulating my disgust and remorse over this senseless and tragic act."

The statement came as those close to Martel said they wish they could have done more to stop what prosecutors described as a "vicious attack" that played out in front of neighbors.

"Neighbors tried to help, we tried to stop it. We couldn't," Ben Ray, who witnessed the attack, told CBS Boston affiliate WBZ-TV. "People stepped in to try and save a girl's life and we couldn't."

READ MORE: Son of Red Sox Announcer Jerry Remy Charged With Murder

Also today, Massachusetts State Rep. Jim Lyons urged Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan to step down for allowing Jared Remy to be released from custody on Wednesday, after allegedly slammed Martel's head into a bathroom mirror.

"The facts speak volumes -- that this man has a violent history," Lyons said. "When someone's been arrested 15 times since 1998, with four assault and battery's, it's a simple answer: The man should have been held for a dangerousness hearing."

Martel's uncle, Richard Martel Jr., told ABC News' "Good Morning America" remembered his niece as "a great kid," but said there were warning signs of danger between her and Remy.

"He never let her go out anywhere, he wanted her for himself," he said. "She's dead now, and I predicted it to my friends."

Martel's grandfather, who never met Remy, said her death has still not sunk in.

"It was a real shock. I didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do," he told ABC Boston affiliate WCVB-TV. "I'm going to accept the fact that my granddaughter's gone."

Remy was arraigned Friday in Waltham District Court on charges of murder and assault. He pleaded not guilty, but was ordered held without bail.

In court, prosecutors said a neighbor tried to pull Remy off Martel, but could not budge the heavily muscled suspect, and Remy swung a knife at the neighbor, but missed. Remy is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon for those alleged actions.

Remy was covered in blood and there was evidence of a struggle throughout the apartment, officials said.

Martel, who was approaching her 28th birthday, had a 4-year-old daughter who was home at the time of the struggle. The child was unharmed and is now with a state child welfare agency.

Remy's argument with Martel began Tuesday and escalated into Remy pushing her into a bathroom mirror, authorities said.

He was arrested on a charge of assaulting Martel, but pleaded not guilty and was released. The judge issued a restraining order that required Remy to stay away from Martel. The order, however, was lifted the same day at Martel's request, according to court documents.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the bail recommendation that Remy be released on his personal recognizance was "based on information known to us at the time."