Slain Ecuadorean man's kin coming to LI

Three months after an Ecuadorean immigrant was slain in

Patchogue, his mother and sister are coming to Long Island to call for healing

- and to face the seven teenagers accused of the attack.

Rosario Lucero and her daughter Isabel are flying in from the highlands of

Ecuador tomorrow night. On Tuesday, they will attend what the Congregational

Church of Patchogue calls a "service of healing and reconciliation."

The next day, they will go to court for a pretrial conference, where the

Luceros expect to see the teens accused in the hate crime. "I'm hoping the

church service will give my mom some peace before we go to court," said Joselo

Lucero, the younger brother of Marcelo, who was killed while walking a few feet

from the Patchogue train station.

Joselo expects his mother and sister to seek healing between Long Islanders

and immigrants - including those who come into the country without documents.

"We're also going to call for justice to prevail against those who killed my

brother," he added.

Marcelo, 38, left Ecuador 15 years ago and hadn't seen his mother or

sisters since. Joselo, 34, hasn't seen his family since he left his homeland 14

years ago.

The U.S. government issued a one-year visa to Lucero's mother and sister so

they can attend the trial, said William Murillo, a former minister of

migration in Ecuador who is helping the family. Murillo said schoolchildren and

others in the Patchogue area donated money to buy the family plane tickets.

The Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter, pastor of the Congregational Church, said he

invited a wide range of politicians and community activists to the service,

including those who have been critical of undocumented immigrants. He also

invited relatives of the accused teenagers. "We all need healing despite the

tendency to choose sides," he said.