Back in high school, Jenni-Lyn Watson was known as a genuine person who was easy to talk to.

‘She had a warming personality to be around,’ said Ian Smith, who graduated with Watson from Liverpool High School in 2008 and is now a senior television, radio and film and political science major at Syracuse University.

Smith would see Watson in the hallways and say hello. He also knew Steven Pieper, who was in their graduating class and started dating Watson post-graduation. Pieper had a friendly personality, and the two would talk about sports sometimes, Smith said.

‘He was a guy’s guy,’ Smith said.

So it was a shock for Smith and others in the Liverpool area to hear over Thanksgiving break that Watson, 20, had gone missing Nov. 19. Watson’s body was discovered Saturday in Clay Central Park. Police arrested Watson’s ex-boyfriend Pieper, 21, Saturday afternoon on a charge of second-degree murder.

Law enforcement officials and some residents in the Liverpool area spent Thanksgiving break searching for Watson, home from her third year at Mercyhurst College in Pennsylvania, where she majored in dance. SU students who were classmates of Watson or had never met Watson became involved in the search, posting on Facebook and joining online groups dedicated to the search.

SU’s Department of Public Safety posted missing-person fliers around campus and on the DPS website after friends of the Watson family asked the department to, said DPS Asst. Chief Mike Rathbun. He said Watson was known to frequent the East neighborhood.

DPS has no plans to change security in light of the incident because someone the victim knew has been arrested as a suspect, Rathbun said. Due to the possibility the crime was committed by a romantic partner, Rathbun said he encourages students to come to DPS if they are dealing with a relationship problem that makes them feel unsafe. DPS is one outlet available to help students if they foresee a relationship problem, he said.

Many first learned about Watson’s disappearance through Facebook. The Facebook group, ‘MISSING: Jenni-Lyn Watson,’ had more than 26,000 members as of Sunday. Some Facebook members who knew Watson or were concerned with the search changed their profile pictures to images of Watson and, before her body was found, put up the image of Watson’s missing poster.

Smith, the SU student who graduated with Watson, said he joined the Facebook group and was active in posting and keeping others updated about the case.

‘Even if I didn’t know her, it’s a close-knit community,’ Smith said. ‘At the end of the day, we are all friendly with each other.’

Smith plans to attend the calling hours on Tuesday, he said. He said he believes Pieper, like anyone else charged with a crime, is innocent until proven guilty, but he hoped justice would be served for Watson.

Isaac Budmen, a junior policy studies and psychology major who graduated with Watson, first heard about Watson’s disappearance on Facebook, as well. He eventually had to take a break from using the social networking site last week because he said he was overwhelmed by the news.

‘I was thrown — thrown for a loop,’ Budmen said about the news of Watson’s death. ‘I feel awful for her family, for her.’

There was still a sense of hope in the community until Saturday morning, Budmen said. He said he likes to think the Watson family was at least comforted by the high school friends who were home for the Thanksgiving holiday and turned out for support.

‘There’s not a single person walking through Wegmans that hasn’t been affected,’ he said.

Nick Pickard, a sophomore English and textual studies and nutrition science major, heard people talking about Watson’s disappearance everywhere he went, he said. Pickard was staying with Budmen over the break. Pickard also saw search parties when he was driving through the area, he said.

Pickard, from Washington state, does not have ties to the Liverpool area but said he could see the tight-knit community was distraught over the event. When it was announced Saturday that Watson’s body had been found, Pickard said the day was ‘very, very solemn.’

‘It was just quiet,’ he said.

The news of the violence in the Liverpool community was an eye-opener, said Maddie Horrell, who graduated with Watson and is now a sophomore music education major.

‘It was awful,’ Horrell said. ‘There was one of two ways that this could have gone, and it went the worst way.’

The support from the Liverpool community and Facebook outlets was amazing, Horrell said. She did not know Watson well, but Horrell said she and Watson shared friends.

‘What I knew was that she was a wonderful person,’ Horrell said. ‘I never heard anything bad about her.’ 

For students still looking to reach out to the family, Watson family spokeswoman Kelly Kinahan said in e-mail that donations could be made to the Jenni-Lyn Watson Dance Scholarship Fund. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in St. Margaret’s Church. Calling hours at the Thomas J. Pirro Funeral Home will be held Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. 

dkmcbrid@syr.edu

Published on November 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride