Mastic Beach stabbing victim a 'free spirit'

She wanted to meet "a blazing fire of truth," to find inspiration in "a beauteous blossom of love," and to be comforted by "a soothing balm of peace."

Laura Pizzini's writings on different social networking pages revealed a young woman interested in poetry and politics, with a dreamy and spontaneous bent.

On her Facebook page, the 25-year-old Mastic resident, found stabbed to death in her apartment Friday, listed among her favorite activities: "Randomness, gardening, martial arts, dancing, drinking, hard work and walking."

She loved the works of fantasy novelist Piers Anthony and the dark fiction of Dean Koontz, according to her MySpace page. Her interests, she wrote on Facebook, were "Forces of Nature, books, a good cup of tea or coffee, music, shiny objects, bouncy balls, rain . . ."

Pizzini had worked at Forge River Nursery Home and Garden Center on Montauk Highway in Mastic for about a year, where staff said she was a cashier. She also helped with seasonal duties such as preparing Christmas trees, said her brother-in-law, Robert Ratchford.

He said that members of Pizzini's extensive family had last seen her at a recent wedding, where she was photographed dancing in a lemon-yellow dress.

Saturday, her Web pages slowly filled with messages of shock and grief.

"We are all totally devastated . . . rest easy Laura, you will be forever in all of our hearts," one friend wrote.

"Laura, my heart is so crushed! You know you are so very much loved by many. You were such a free spirit and I can't even imagine what kind of monster has done this horrific act," her mother, Margie Pizzini-Dovale, wrote. "I love you my baby girl forever . . . RIP."