Newsday's 1989 coverage of Dorothy LeConte's murder

The following article was published in Newsday on June 16, 1989, two days after authorities say Dorothy LeConte was murdered in Hempstead.

Six months ago, Dorothy Leconte arrived in the United States from Haiti to study, to become an American citizen, to live the better life her father had sought for her and her brothers and sisters.

Yesterday, her father, Louis Leconte, was mourning the death of his 22-year-old daughter, the second homicide victim in his family in a year. The body of the North Bergen, N.J., woman was found lying face down in a small creek on the edge of the Hempstead High School grounds Wednesday. She had been sexually assaulted, and police believe she had been strangled, although the medical examiner's office has not determined the exact cause of her death.

"I have little left. I'm a hard-working guy. For ten years I have tried to get all my children here the legal way, only to have two of them killed," Leconte said yesterday as he stood in the parking lot of the Nassau medical examiner's office, holding back tears. "Why this? I don't know how to feel. I raise them with no wife, no welfare, no mistress. My daughter didn't drink, smoke or do drugs. She loved to eat and drink sodas," said Leconte, a building manager in the North Bergen complex where he recently bought a condominum for Dorothy and her sister, Patricia.

Leconte's son, Alphonso, had been shot to death and robbed in New Jersey last year at the age of 19, he said. Leconte said his son was killed shortly after making a withdrawal at a bank teller machine.

Leconte said he spent more than a year trying to get the last of his four children to America after his ex-wife died several years ago. Once Dorothy Leconte got here, she began attending classes at the Technical Career Institute in Manhattan. Family members said she wanted to be a beautician, or a computer specialist. She also was taking English language courses.

When Leconte was not in school, she held a part-time job at a New Jersey Roy Rogers restaurant where her sister was a supervisor.

"My daughter was very deep into school. Once I got sick and she had to miss a day to take care of me. When I was better, she told me she was mad because she missed school. She wanted to become a United States citizen and bring her son here," said Leconte, thumbing through faded photographs of his daughter. One included her 23-month-old son, Narces, playing a toy saxophone. The son is living with family members in Haiti.

Authorities believe Dorothy Leconte was attacked while walking to the home of relatives a few blocks from the creek where she was found at President Street and Peninsula Boulevard.

"She was walking up President Street going south toward Peninsula Boulevard on the same side as the school when she was accosted and dragged to the bridge," said Det. Sgt. William Cocks of the homicide squad.

According to family members, the victim had come to Hempstead on Monday to visit her brother, Jude, and her aunt, Micheline Leconte. She returned to Manhattan on Tuesday for school. Patricia Leconte said Dorothy decided to return to visit the brother and aunt after school. The last time Patricia saw her sister alive was when Dorothy boarded a bus near her home at 6:30 p.m.

Her Hempstead relatives said they were expecting her to arrive at their house around midnight. She never made it. Her body was found around noon on Wednesday by two high school custodians.

Her book bag was lying beside her, and family members said a gold chain and a ring had been stolen.

Nassau County Police say they have no suspects, and no witnesses. They are asking residents in the area to come forward if they saw the victim either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Those with information can call the homicide squad at 535-7788.

They are hoping that someone may remember seeing Dorothy Leconte with someone. She was wearing black high-top sneakers, a blue denim mini-skirt and a light colored blouse.

Ted Holmes, assistant principal at the high school, said, "We have security patrolling the grounds during school and unfortunately, this happened before we came to school."

Yesterday, a family friend, Michael Scott of North Bergen, said that Dorothy Leconte was often a babysitter for his daughter, Kerditra, 8. "I'm in shock. She was a beautiful person. I don't know how I'm going to tell my daughter. She will take it hard," he said.

Dave Weidner contributed to this article