Woman killed in apparently random Danvers murder "could light up a dim room," niece says

The niece of Janet Swallow, who police say was murdered in a random attack inside her Danvers home earlier this month, spoke publicly for the first time, describing her aunt as someone who "could light up a dim room."

Janet Swallow's home on Amherst Street in Danvers was home base for large family gatherings and holidays.

"It was a revolving door for everyone and all were welcome all the time," her niece, Samantha Swallow, said in an exclusive interview with WBZ-TV. "You just walked in the door. The door was never locked. You just walked in. You didn't ask for a drink, you went and got one yourself."

After decades of living there, Swallow, 68, died inside that home in what police say was a brutal and random attack by Bishop Fenwick High School student Anthony DeMayo on March 12.

"I just don't understand how he was failed by so many," Samantha Swallow said.

Janet Swallow's murder

Samantha Swallow knew the pain of a troubled childhood. She was in and out of foster care growing up.

"My mom was a single mom. [She was] young when she had me. She did the absolute best she could," she said.

In the meantime, Janet Swallow became like a mother to her.

"That house represents stability for me, and it is so hard knowing that it's not going to be like a place where we can all gather again sometime or just sit and talk," Samantha said. "That house means the world to me. It is probably the most stable home I ever had. When I was young, it was so full of love."

Swallow remembers her "Auntie Janet" teaching her life skills like balancing a checkbook and managing her money. She remembers her aunt saving her from near fashion disasters by surprising her with a pea coat and new shoes for a trip to Boston with a friend as a teen. 

Janet told her, "you're always welcome here," Samantha said.

"She was so strong"

Before Samantha's high school prom, she said Janet rushed home despite having a really difficult week herself.

"She was so down in the dumps, but she still came home to make sure she had a picture with me because these are the moments that matter and she wanted to make sure that we got our prom picture," she said.

"She was so strong," Samantha added.

That strength made her aunt a good ICU nurse, good mother to her two sons, and helped her survive a difficult divorce, Samantha Swallow said.

"The spirit she had. She can make you smile and laugh and anywhere Janet went was a good time," she said. "And she was just an unbreakable person."

Janet Swallow was a longtime ICU nurse at Lahey Hospital in Burlington. She was a mother to two sons and a grandmother.

Police say Janet Swallow was stabbed in a random attack overnight inside her own home.

"The randomness of it, it almost makes it harder to wrap your head around," Samantha said. "She was too good of a person. She's the last person that deserved this. And I just can't imagine the fear that you know… Even screaming out for help. There was no one there."

It's hard for Samantha to ignore how her aunt died, but she's trying to focus on her legacy and the warm memories she left behind – backyard cookouts, time with her best friends, and being a listening ear or shoulder to cry on for anyone who needed her.

"You never had a second guess where you stood with her. My auntie Janet was just a light in a dim room, she could light up a dim room," she said.

The suspect, an 18-year-old Bishop Fenwick student, has been undergoing a mental health evaluation. He is due back in court on April 22.