The Lexington community came together Sunday to honor Shen Cai's life, rather than the way she died.
Surprisingly a lot of people who attended the vigil weren't necessarily close to Cai, but she touched them all in small ways.
She was known to give out Chinese New Year bags, participate in various fundraising events and play volleyball. Cai was also part of a mother's group where she would share recipes with others, and she was recently baptized in the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston.
The community of Lexington is shocked by the manner she died. Her husband, Hongyan Sun, 50, is accused of strangling her and putting her in her car after an alleged history of verbal and physical abuse. Prosecutors in the case say Sun and Cai were going through a divorce and she previously told friends and her attorney about her husband's history of abuse.
Court documents also show that shortly before Cai died, she told a friend that "if she was ever found dead, it would be a homicide, not a suicide."
It was important to all who gathered Sunday to make the day less about how she died and more on learning about the life she lived.
There will be an official memorial for Cai next Saturday from 9-11 a.m. at the Lexington Chinese Bible Church.
