Winchester slay victim was advocate for others

Med student ‘showed great promise’

The 22-year-old woman ambushed in a deadly knife attack Saturday at the Winchester Public Library was fondly remembered as a “passionate” medical student who fought for awareness in issues like domestic violence and mental illness, officials at her university said.

Deane Kenny Stryker of Winchester was identified yesterday by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office as the woman fatally stabbed by 23-year-old Jeffrey Yao while sitting in a reading section inside the library.

University of New England President James Herbert said Stryker showed great promise as a first-year medical student.

“The University of New England community was shocked and saddened to learn of the death of one of our students,” Herbert said in a statement. “A first-year student in the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, Deane was just beginning her journey toward becoming a physician, and showed great promise as a student doctor who was passionate about medicine and helping others.

“She was an advocate for domestic violence and mental health awareness . ... She served as an orientation leader, and was part of a student organization that provides confidential peer support to other students who need a place to turn when they are struggling.”

Stryker’s family could not be reached for comment.

At about 10 a.m. Saturday, Yao approached Stryker from behind as she was sitting in a reading section of the Washington Street library and repeatedly plunged a hunting knife with a 10-inch blade into her body, Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan said, leaving her with “a number of slash and stab wounds to the head and upper torso.”

One eyewitness told the Herald he heard a loud commotion coming from the reading section and saw Yao acting agitated and yelling incoherently.

Yao’s neighbors said his behavior has been increasingly erratic in recent months and one even said he warned authorities that he “will kill somebody.”

“We warned them. We warned them. I can’t believe this,” a neighbor said. “This whole thing could have been avoided. All of it.” The neighbor asked not to be identified out of fear of retribution.

Yao is being held without bail. His arraignment is slated for today in Woburn District Court, authorities said.

STAFF PHOTOS BY NICOLAUS CZARNECKI MOURNING: A woman, left, and a group of people, below, show their respects at a memorial for Deane Kenny Stryker, who died after a stabbing Saturday at Winchester Public Library, above.