On May 12^th, friends and family of Angela Moss gathered at the FJC downtown center to remember their loved one, and to dedicate a client living room in her honor. The family worked with FJC advocates, staff, and a very special volunteer – Dionne Williamson, founder of Upward Design for Life, to create a space that captured the caring spirit of Angie.

Angela was brutally murdered in 2012. For six years, the Orchard Park case detective, John Payne, tried to amass enough evidence to convict Angie’s boyfriend, who he and others believed to be the prime suspect, primarily because a few days before her death, he had her sign over her life insurance policy to him. The U.S. Attorney’s office and prosecutors, Melissa Marangola and Joel Violanti, successfully prosecuted the case and, finally, in December of 2016 the suspect was convicted of insurance fraud, and sent to prison for 60 years.

While Angie wasn’t a client of the FJC, her story is unfortunately not unique to situations of others who seek services and safety through the center and our satellite locations. Throughout the investigation, Angela’s mother steadfastly worked to see justice served for the loss of her daughter. Mary Murphy, Executive Director for FJC, remembers the steadfast devotion of Angie’s family, and how it guided her decision to become a champion for domestic violence victims.