Tabitha Potter

Tabitha Lauriel Potter was born to Alan and Melissa Potter. Her mother, Melissa, died shortly after she was born and her grandmother, Shirley Gendreau, helped Alan raise Tabitha. One day in September 1999, Tabitha put on her new school clothes (the first day of school was the following Wednesday) and left her house. She was never seen again. The family - her father, grandfather, and stepmother Donna - searched with others for four days. Tabitha's body was eventually found covered in leaves and wood timbers in a nearby city park (called Shedd Park) where she used to play. For full details see Body discovered in Lowell. Police later identified her killer as an out of work bricklayer who hanged himself after Tabitha's body was found. Further investigation found that she had been raped, strangled, and partially buried. They said that James Howley, 32, had been found through his DNA and a rare brand of cigarettes found at the scene. James' father said that his son was "an easy scapegoat" and that he wasn't guilty. See Lowell girl's killer named.