PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Betty Cooper with a photo of her daughter, Cheryl Senn, who was murdered in a domestic violence incident in 1997.
BY MICHELE DURGIN
Betty Cooper’s life changed forever when her 29-year-old daughter was stabbed to death by the father of their four boys.
Cheryl Senn died in Lynn in 1997 after she was stabbed by her husband 29 times.
Cooper said her son-in-law was jealous because Senn had returned to school, started taking classes at Operation Bootstrap, an adult education center, with a dream of becoming a real estate agent.
Peter Eugene, then 45, was found guilty of murder and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in MCI-Cedar Junction at Walpole.
To honor her daughter’s memory, Cooper has become an advocate to prevent domestic abuse. She is helping organize the Healing Abuse Working for Change’s (HAWC) 24th annual fundraiser on Sunday. The annual 5K walk begins and ends on the Salem Common.
Senn’s four sons are grown, ranging in ages from 25 to 30. None have married or had children of their own, but they remain close to their grandmother.
“They are an important part of my life,” said Cooper. “They miss their mother every single day and never really recovered from being in the house while she was being murdered.”
HAWC is a nonprofit victim advocacy organization that sponsors fundraisers and community events including the annual Working to Heal Breakfast and the Walk/Run for HAWC, which is its oldest and largest fundraising event.
Event planners are hoping to raise $125,000 that will be used to provide services and support to victims of domestic abuse in about two dozen North Shore communities.
Founded in 1978, the charity assists survivors of domestic by helping to file restraining orders and seeking treatment for victims. HAWC also provides emergency family shelter for people who are at risk of being homeless due to domestic abuse.
Those staying in the shelter receive assistance from a family advocate who guides them through what can be a stressful and complicated process.
Volunteers participate in many of the agency’s services, such as manning its 24-hour hotline or the Parent/Child Trauma Recovery Program.
Despite the passage of time, Cooper said she still finds it difficult to talk about her daughter’s murder and that the memories are still very painful.
“We all love and miss her dearly,” she said. “She was a fun loving and deeply devout woman who loved her children dearly. She had a beautiful smile. She will be in our hearts forever.”