The article, shown below, was copied from
https://www.dailylocal.com/2005/02/18/kennett-mourns-slain-student/
(it may or may not still be available there)
Kennett mourns slain student
By Gina Ralston
PUBLISHED: February 18, 2005 at 9:43 AM EST | UPDATED: August 19, 2021 at 4:26 AM EDT
After students found out, faculty and administrators were helping them deal with their emotions.
Kennett Principal Wesley McDowell said on Feb. 3, at 7 a.m., Zavala’s sister, a cousin and a friend came into his office crying and told him what happened. Shortly after, the school arranged to have his sister flown by jet to Mexico to be with her family.
According to the El Sol del Bajio newspaper, Zavala was attending a festival in Caricheo. Police told the newspaper there was not proper supervision and a fight broke out.
The youth was stabbed to death. A brother, Eduardo Zavala, received a minor injury, according to reports.
Arrested and charged with homicide was a Richardo Ruiz Hernandez, who has had a preliminary hearing on the charges and is in prison.
McDowell said Zavala had had gone with his family to Mexico for a wedding.
According to McDowell and high school guidance counselor Fran Ryan, Zavala was a very friendly, respectful and popular young man.
“It’s a shame. He was a nice guy, a nice kid,” said McDowell. “He was well-liked around here.”
Ryan said Zavala was upbeat and not at all low-profile. “He was very friendly, very outgoing.”
When the news came that their friend was gone, many students were distraught, and the school put all of its energy into giving them an opportunity to grieve. “We had a very large number of kids who sought help,” said Ryan.
In the two weeks following the initial shock, the counselors have continued to look out for the students. “We have been trying to monitor some of the kids that were most strongly affected,” said Ryan.
Since the initial shock, the students have turned their grief into an effort to help Zavala’s family. Jessica Unger, a senior and the student representative to the school board, said the student council will be presenting the parents with a framed picture of their son next month.
Additionally, the students have been selling white ribbons and collecting money during lunch to help defray the family’s travel expenses.
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The article, shown below, was originally published in the Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005,
issue of
The Kennett Paper (Kennett Square, PA).
