The end of finals week last semester was marked with devastating news for the Rensselaer community. John Francis Curry ’10 passed away on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 in his apartment off-campus in Troy at 2279 Fifth Avenue. Curry was a 21-year-old junior in mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Patrolman William Bowles found Curry face-down blocking the doorway of the student’s first floor apartment early in the morning after the Troy Police Department received a phone call from his father in New Jersey at around 2:30 am, asking them to check on his son. The front door to his apartment was unlocked, and a handgun and open wallet were found by his side, with a cell phone in his right hand. It is unknown if the gun belonged to Curry. Unnamed sources said that he was also wearing hiking gear and a backpack. However, even though the handgun was found with his body and blood on the floor, none of the other residents in the apartment building said they had heard a gunshot or anything unusual that night. By December 18, the street was still closed and crime scene tape surrounded Curry’s apartment.
A few days after Curry’s body was found, Sgt. Dave Dean, a spokesman for the police department, commented that, “forensics tests are still being compiled and we’re waiting for those tests to determine how it’s going to be ruled.” Curry’s apartment was ransacked by the police when they found him, and an autopsy was performed that Tuesday night. However, the findings of both, along with other investigations, have still not been released. In addition, the police have not specifically said whether Curry had been shot and his death has not yet been determined as an accident, a homicide, or a suicide. Dean, however, commented to the Times Union regarding the length of the investigation that, “Unlike TV, violent crime is not labeled or wrapped up in a short time. We hope to have more information to the public shortly.”
While the Times Union and The Troy Record have been sprinkled with updates on the investigation covering Curry’s death over the past few weeks, new information on the case has not been released in over a week. Dean was reached briefly for comment the first week of January. He mentioned there was new information on the death of Curry, but no new information has been officially released yet.
A few days before Curry died, his mother, Grace Lynch Curry, rang the only working doorbell in his apartment building asking to see her son, but she was not allowed to because the landlord had requested that no one without a key should be let in. Sarah Ryan, who answered the door that night, said, “She knocked on my door and asked me if I knew him. She was very upset and crying and said she needed to get in touch with him.”
Curry’s mother does not believe her son committed suicide. In the Thursday interview with the Times Union, She described her son as sweet, kind-hearted, and well-loved. In a brief phone interview, Curry’s mother had also said that, “He was in a good mood. He had just left his sister, and we were just talking about plans for the holidays.”
The ambiguity of Curry’s death, in addition to the fact that most students had already left campus, left the general RPI population uninformed until a couple of days afterwards, when an official e-mail notification was sent out to the Institute’s population by Vice President for Student Life Eddie Ade Knowles. Knowles commented that, “The loss of a student is perhaps the most difficult thing for a university community to handle, and we understand that this news is upsetting for many of you. John will be missed by our community. We extend our deepest sympathies to John’s family and friends.”
Since the age of nine, Curry was known as a musician at heart, playing in chamber groups and orchestras. He loved to ski and play volleyball with his father. He had a hobby of repairing antique clocks and woodworking with his grandfather. He will be loved and remembered by his family and friends.
Curry’s funeral was held at the Vainieri Funeral Home, 5923 Kennedy Blvd. in North Bergen, N.J., on December 19. The mass was held at St. Mary’s Church in Rutherford on Saturday, December 20 at 11 am.
The Troy Police Department is working hard to answer the questions surrounding John F. Curry’s death. Numerous forensics tests have been in the process of being conducted since the day his body was found.
They hope to be able to release new information to the public as soon as the forensics tests reveal a solid answer to how Curry passed away.
