There were two refreshing elements to the otherwise terrible story of an assault on a Derry couple in their lakefront home.
On June 29, Annette and David Joyce were attacked at their Chester Road home. Police say Casey Jesson, 31, climbed onto the porch of the Joyces' home and tried to enter through the sliding rear door. David Joyce led him off the property but Jesson quickly returned and entered the house through the garage, according to police.
David Joyce ordered Jesson off the property while Annette Joyce dialed 911. Police say Jesson pushed David Joyce aside and attacked Annette Joyce, pushing her to the ground and repeatedly hitting her.
Annette Joyce suffered a broken hip in the attack and required surgery as well as a five-day hospital stay.
Jesson was arrested and faces charges of assault, criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Jesson, also of Derry, is being held on $100,000 bail.
It's a disturbing story of a couple facing a frightening assault in their own home. It's what happened later that turns the story into one of hope.
The community has rallied around the Joyces, seeing that they have everything they need. Annette Joyce is a lifelong resident of Derry; her friends and neighbors were not about to let her down in a time of need.
"I received about 500 calls while I was in the hospital and 21 baskets of flowers," Joyce told reporter Suzanne Laurent.
Longtime friend Vickie Buckley Chase stopped by with 15-bean soup, cold chicken pasta, chicken cordon bleu and stuffed peppers to provide several meals for the Joyces. Chase and Joyce have been friends since junior high and are both members of the Pinkerton Academy Class of 1973.
"I'm here for a few hours," Chase told Laurent. "I'll help her with whatever she needs done."
Another longtime friend, Sandra Patient of Manchester, is organizing fundraisers to help Joyce pay her medical bills. David Joyce runs his own small business and the couple does not have medical insurance.
Annette Joyce estimates their medical bills from the attack to be at least $60,000.
Patient is setting up a Facebook page for fundraiser information that will include the Joyce Family Fund account at Sovereign Bank in Derry and a spaghetti dinner fundraiser in the fall at the Derry-Salem Elks Lodge in Salem.
The Joyces are big NASCAR fans and visit the Lee USA Speedway every weekend. After the attack, a winning driver dedicated his victory to Annette, who received two standing ovations.
Boys and Girls Club of Greater Derry, where Joyce has been a volunteer bingo caller for 25 years, has also taken up a collection for her.
It's heartwarming to know that Derry is the kind of community where people rally to help those in trouble.
Also touching, and somewhat surprising, is Joyce's attitude toward her attacker.
Jesson has a history of troubled behavior. In 1988, Jesson, then 9, had been ordered by school officials to take Ritalin for attention deficit disorder. His parents refused to keep him on the drug because they said it made him a "glassy-eyed zombie," according to archive reports from The Eagle-Tribune. The Jessons took the school to court and eventually won at trial in 1991. The story made national headlines.
Joyce says Jesson was "high as a space shuttle" when he attacked her. Joyce says she hopes he gets the help he needs.
"I'm angry at the system," she said. "He's an addict. He needs help."
Joyce's attitude toward her alleged attacker is unusual. Many would, with ample justification, be calling for harsh punishment. But Joyce believes that some good will come from her terrifying experience.
"I'm alive, and a lot of good stuff will come out of this," she told Laurent. "You watch."
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