Sense of renewal at Clifton church where two were slain

by Claire Heininger/The Star-Ledger
Sunday February 08, 2009
A scene of tragedy was filled with renewal today as five people who received the organs of a shooting victim met the 25-year-old man's family for the first time at the Passaic County church where he was killed.

The parents and sister of Dennis John Malloosseril, who was shot and killed Nov. 23, had a tearful first meeting with the recipients of his heart, lungs liver, kidneys and pancreas before honoring his life with a standing-room-only memorial service at the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton. Tributes flowed to Malloosseril's love of family, friends and faith and his selfless nature.

"I wish I could've known him," said Malta Hameed, 41, of Clifton, who received Malloosseril's liver. "He died a hero. That's how I see it. He saved all of us."

Hameed said she also wrote a thank-you letter to Malloosseril's parents, Aley and Abraham John, who decided immediately after their son's death that he would've wanted to be a donor, said Malloosseril's aunt, Suja Alummoottil.

"They instilled in him all of the right values," Alummoottil said of his parents. "He would party until late night and be the first one at church in the morning.

Heart recipient James O'Hea of Woodbridge called the service, attended by about 300 people, "overwhelming."

"I will do my best to be the kind of person he would've been," said O'Hea, 57, who said he was given one month to live before learning he would receive a donated heart.

Malloosseril was killed when he intervened in a dispute between 24-year-old Reshma James and her estranged husband, Joseph Pallipurath, who drove from California to confront her, police said.

James' cousin, 48-year-old Silvy Perincheril, was seriously injured with a gunshot wound to the head. Perincheril has emerged from a coma and was moved to a rehab center, where her family says she continues her slow recovery.

Pallipurath was captured 36 hours after the shooting in a motel in Georgia. He was extradited to New Jersey and has pleaded not guilty in the case. He remains in jail, authorities have said, and tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide in mid-January while incarcerated.

All of the transplants took place within 24 hours after the shooting, said Bill Reitsma, Director of Clinical Services for the NJ Sharing Network, the nonprofit organization that arranged the transplants.

For more information about organ and tissue donation, call 1-800-SHARE-NJ, visit sharenj.org, or e-mail info@sharenj.org.

To read more
Link: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/a_scene_of_tragedy_was.html