Shooter's Victims were 'Sweetest People'

Dec. 27 -- Janice Hagerty wasn’t supposed to be sitting at the receptionist’s desk when the shooting erupted at Edgewater Technology on Tuesday, but she was doing what a co-worker said was typical of all seven victims who died in the gunfire — pitching in to help the company.

Hagerty, 46, was the office manager at the Internet consulting firm, but because the receptionist was on vacation, she agreed to fill in.

“They were some of the sweetest, smartest people I’ve ever had the chance to work with,” Edgewater employee Michael Stanley told the Boston Globe. “They were the cream of the crop.”

The way the crime has been reconstructed by investigators, Hagerty was among the first victims. Assistant District Attorney Tom O’Reilly said it is believed that Michael McDermott began his rampage by shooting Cheryl Troy, 50, as she stood beside the receptionist’s desk, then turned his gun on Hagerty as she fled.

Troy became the company’s vice president for human resources in 1998 and previously worked at Leggatt McCall Properties LLC in Boston and for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. She was described by her sister as an animal lover who liked spending time at the seashore.

New Mother Not Long Back on the Job

Another victim, Jennifer Bragg Capobianco had a new daughter. She had come back to work at the company just before Christmas, following the birth. The 29-year-old, who worked in the marketing department, was married to an emergency medical technician and commuted from the Brighton section of Boston.

Rose Manfredi was shot one day before her 49th birthday, but a neighbor told the Globe that she looked 20 years younger, saying Manfredi could easily be mistaken for her daughter. A resident of Lexington, she was an accountant in the payroll department.

Two of the victims, Louis Javelle and Paul Marceau worked in consulting, the same division as the suspect.

Javelle, 58, was a widower with three sons and a daughter. A neighbor, Michael Gentile, described Javelle as “very religious,” quiet man. He was the firm’s director of consulting.