HAVERHILL — The mother of a local Navy sailor slain in Virginia described the crime as "an accident" and yesterday showed compassion for the man accused of killing her daughter.
"It was just a terrible accident and she was only 20 years old," said Mary Trask of Haverhill, the mother of Caitlin Trask, 20, who was killed last Thursday in Newport News, Va.
Newport News police charged Trask's former boyfriend, Darren Mackie, 22, with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A Wisconsin native, Mackie was an airman aboard the USS Kearsarge.
He is now being held in the Newport News jail, police said.
"They were very good friends. He cared for her," Mary Trask said of Mackie.
Trask, a 2006 graduate of North Andover High School, was a petty officer assigned to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Police allege Mackie shot Trask last Thursday while she was visiting his military apartment. She died before emergency crews arrived, police said.
Police in Newport News would not comment on the family's assertion that Trask's death was accidental, however.
"They weren't here when it happened," said Lou Thurston, the department's public information officer. "We have to play the cards we were dealt."
In a brief interview yesterday, Mary Trask said her daughter met Mackie more than a year ago. They dated but later "mutually decided to stay friends."
"They were very good friends," she said.
Caitlin Trask also is survived by her father, Donald, and an older brother, Jason. The family previously lived at 18 Water St. in North Andover, but moved to Haverhill about two years ago.
Trask was accepted at the University of Massachusetts and Suffolk University as a high school senior. She decided instead to enlist in the Navy, where she banked on becoming more confident and focused.
In a May 2006 interview, Trask told The Eagle-Tribune she was proud to be the only member of her graduating class to join the military. She hoped to be trained in the tracking of missiles and ships using computers.
"I don't think I would be prouder to do any other job," she said at the time.
The Navy planned a memorial service for Trask today in the Newport News area, according to a published report.
Her death was the first homicide in Newport News this year, police said.
Edward Mitchell, the North Andover and Boxford veterans agent, spoke with the Trask family yesterday, offering them both support and access to veterans services and grief counseling, he said.
He encouraged Trask's family and friends "to talk about the loss, with family, friends or a professional counselor."
"It's important to talk about it and not just bottle it up," Mitchell said.
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