Matthew R. Callies

Bright Future Stolen

Lena Bruce had a bright future ahead

just graduated from a top university

landed a dream job

new life in Boston

21-year-old Tufts grad

Electrical Engineering degree

moved into apartment on Mass Ave

South End summer night

bound raped murdered in her bedroom

no witnesses

brutally assaulted

case went cold

25 years unsolved

DNA evidence helps police indict suspect

James Witkowski 42 homeless

indicted for first-degree murder

jury found him guilty

convicted Dec 11 2017

sentenced to life in prison

Suffolk Superior Court

prosecutors DNA proves man raped killed woman

no connection known

as far as investigators could tell

her death unsolved until shocking clue

I\'m still grieving

spurred by the break

scholarship established shortly following her death

names remain

a brilliant young woman

future stolen

justice couldn\'t hide

decades later

Lena Bruce remains

in memory\'s light

a scar on Boston\'s summer

where promise met violence

and waited long for truth.