City Students Mourn Loss Of Slain Staten Island Teacher
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The students of a teacher found stabbed inside her Staten Island apartment last week are mourning her death.
Simeonette Mapes-Crupi, 29, had taught at The School for the Classics in East New York, Brooklyn since 2009.
Students on their way to summer school Monday remembered her as a teacher who made an emotional connection with her students.
"She was always close to us, she was there for us whenever we needed a hand. She would always be the one to be there with a tissue and her open arms and hug us," said one student.
"She was truly a blessing to have, everybody loved her, loved being around her. She cared about everybody. Just a wonderful person," recalled another student.
"Why would take someone's life that's so sweet? That don't do anything to help," asked a third student.
Police say Mapes-Crupi's husband, also a teacher at the high school, discovered her body.
Investigators say the killing may have happened during a home invasion.
No arrests have been made.
Wake services were held Monday at the Matthew Funeral Home in Willowbrook, Staten Island.
A funeral mass will be held Tuesday at Our Lady of Pity Roman Catholic Church in Bulls Head, Staten Island.