Boston Area News

NEW YORK (CBS4) ― The mother of slain graduate student Immette St. Guillen has broken her silence and spoke to the media on Tuesday night about her daughter, who was murdered in New York City. Maureen St. Guillen spoke fondly of her 24-year-old daughter, and asked anyone with information to come forward and contact police. Meanwhile, police have released photos of a comforter used to wrap her body -- hoping the evidence will lead to some new clues.

Investigators believe Imette, a native of Mission Hill, was sexually assaulted before she was killed.

Police found her body at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Brooklyn's East New York section after an anonymous 911 caller directed them there. Someone had bound her face, hands and feet with packaging tape before wrapping her in a quilt.

Investigators have released photos of the quilt and its tags with the hopes someone will recognize it.

Detectives also also looking into the possibility there was more than one assailant. They're also trying to determine where she was murdered and whether the crime was comitted by someone she knew or someone she met that night.

Investigators are using high-tech equipment to analyze surveillance video from cameras in the Manhattan neighborhood where she was last seen alive.

One tape shows St. Guillen talking to a friend outside Pioneer, a bar in the Bowery section of Lower Manhattan at about 3 a.m. Saturday. Police say the video shows her going back inside while the friend leaves by cab. Her friends told police she decided to stay behind when they left.

The last friend to see St. Guillen alive is Claire Higgins. She told police she left the 24-year-old at another bar, the Pioneer. And when she checked on her later by cellphone, St. Guillen was fine.

The father of an ex-boyfriend had a message Wednesday night for the killer or killers.

"You're going to have to sleep with your crime," Gerald Coker said. "And I hope you lay awake for the rest of your lives."

St. Guillen was scheduled to graduate this semester from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. She had an undergraduate degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC. Guillen graduated from Boston Latin School in 1999.

She was remembered by professors as an excellent student and who set an example for others.

"It's an ironic tragedy," said Joshua Freilich, her sociology professor at John Jay. "She had everything going for her."

St. Guillen enrolled in the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2004, initially to pursue a master's degree in forensic psychology, and was on the dean's list for 2004-05. In the fall of 2005 she changed her field of study to criminal justice, school officials said. She graduated magna cum laude from George Washington University.

"There are no words to express the deep sadness and sense of loss that we, of the John Jay College community, feel about Ms. St. Guillen's tragic death," college President Jeremy Travis said in a statement. "The entire John Jay community joins together in extending our heartfelt condolences to Ms. St. Guillen's family."

St. Guillen's family issued the following statement Tuesday morning:

"As you must know this is a very difficult time for our family. We thank well-wishers for their kind words, thoughts and prayers. We cannot begin to imagine what life will be like without Imette. She was vibrant, talented, kind, loving, generous - Imette touched so many lives and it is difficult to try and put into words all of who she was and represents to the people who love her. She was extraordinary in so many ways. We miss her terribly. We ask that you please respect our privacy at this time and allow us to mourn and come to terms with our enormous loss. We know that the New York City Police are doing all they can to identify who took Imette away from us. We ask that anyone who might have information please contact the police right away. We will be setting up a scholarship fund at Boston Latin in her name. Again, please allow us this time in privacy. Thank you."

Sources tell our sister station in New York, WCBS, that St. Guillen went into the second bar alone and left alone.

St. Guillen would have turned 25 years old tomorrow.

Her wake is Friday in West Roxbury. The funeral is on Saturday.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)