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Brigit Feeney, well-known victim-witness advocate, one of two people killed in motorcycle crash

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Writer | Jun 23, 2021

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Police officers involved in the investigation of Sunday's fatal motorcycle crash on Wellington Road in Manchester appear to be inspecting the motorcycle as part of the investigation. Both riders were killed in the crash; the passenger was a well-known state victim and witness advocate. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

MANCHESTER – Brigit Feeney, one of two people killed in the motorcycle crash on Wellington Road over the weekend, is being remembered as “a beloved member of the victim advocate community” whose history of “helping countless victims and families made a lasting impact on our state.”

State Attorney General John M. Formella also extended “our deepest condolences to her family, friends and everyone she has worked with,” adding that her death is “a tragic loss.”

Feeney, 33, was the passenger on the motorcycle operated by Thembalethu Dhliwayo, 31, who was also killed in the crash.

Police said the crash occurred shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday near 1112 Wellington Road, which is roughly halfway between the I-93 interchange and the intersection of Wellington Road and Bypass 28, also known as Route 28B, in the northeast section of the city.

Dhliwayo and Feeney were both pronounced deceased at the scene, police said.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS Police set up a command center under a pop-up shelter on Wellington Road for much of Sunday, as members of the department's Accident Reconstruction Team conducted their investigation. The operator and passenger were both killed in the crash. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

First responders arrived to find the motorcycle lying on the ground, showing damage that may have resulted from a collision with a guard rail, according to reports.

A mailbox post in front of a residence about 200 feet away had been snapped off, the reports state.

Police closed Wellington Road between Linda Lane and Currier Drive for much of the day Sunday, to allow members of the Manchester Police Accident Reconstruction Team to conduct an on-scene investigation.

Police said the cause and circumstances of the crash remain under investigation. They ask anyone who may have information to contact the department’s Crime Line at 624-4040.

Meanwhile, Feeney’s death left “a true void both in our hearts and in the victim advocacy community,” Amanda Grady Sexton, director of public affairs for the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, told reporters Monday.

Courtesy photo Brigit Feeney, 33, of Manchester, in a 2014 photo (Courtesy photo)

Feeney, Sexton said, was a fearless advocate “for the rights of all victims of crime … we are heartbroken that we will no longer work side by side with such an exceptional and dedicated advocate.”

Perhaps the most notable case to which Feeney was assigned came early in her career: the rape and murder of University of New Hampshire student Lizzie Marriott, who was 19 when she was killed in October 2012.

For nearly two years, Feeney worked on the case alongside local and state police detectives, prosecutors and members of the Attorney General’s office, devoting time and attention to Marriott’s family and others close to her as they struggled to navigate the frequent twists and turns of a case fraught with unpleasant, at times distressing, allegations and court testimony.

Sexton told reporters that Feeney will be remembered as “a pillar of strength and defender of dignity for so many families who lost loved ones, under the worst circumstances, in our state.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS One of several Manchester police officers and detectives working the scene of Sunday's fatal motorcycle crash appears to be inspecting the motorcycle during the Accident Reconstruction Team's on-scene investigation Sunday morning. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)

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