YOUR LOCAL NEWS & SPORTS ONLINE. SCAN HERE! Vol. 35, No.9 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday 781-286-8500 Friday, February 28, 2025 Tragedy Strikes Home — Mysterious deaths of three Revere women becomes worldwide news Revere residents stunned after three local women found dead in Belize resort hotel room Saturday; Mayor Keefe seeking answers from Belize offi cials By Steve Freker T he mysterious deaths of three young Revere women — one a 2019 Malden High School grad — has become an international news story. Residents of two local communities, Revere and Malden, are stunned over the fact that the trio of women were inexplicably found dead in a Central American hotel room in the resort city of San Pedro, Belize. Wafae El-Arar, 26, Imane Mallah, 24, and Kaoutar Naqqad, 23 — all from Revere — were found Saturday morning, February 22, at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro by hotel housekeeping personnel, police said. Tragically, the women were discovered dead just one day before their Wafae El-Arar scheduled return to the United States, which was Sunday. Ms. Mallah was a 2019 Malden High School graduate. Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe told Boston-based news outlets there were “too many questions” surrounding the deaths of the local women. Council approves $1.8M loan order for citywide lead pipe replacement By Th e Advocate T he City Council approved a $1,875,000 loan order that CFO Richard Viscay said would help Revere remove lead service pipes throughout the entire city. The money would go toward a zero-interest loan with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), specifi - cally the Lead Service Line Replacement Program. COUNCIL | SEE Page 2 PAUL ARGENZIO WARD 4 COUNCIĹLOR S Imane Mallah Keefe told NBC News there’s “widespread concern” about a lack of transparency into what happened. The information on their deaths provided so far from authorities in Belize “[has left] our grieving community with too many questions,” Mayor Keefe added. Kaoutar Naqqad In a statement released on Monday, the Revere mayor extended condolences on behalf of the City of Revere to the family and friends of the women and called them “valued members of the Revere community” and “daughters, friends, and contributors to our City.” The Revere Mayor added that he has been in contact with members of the community’s Congressional delegation — U.S. Senator Ed Markey, D-Mass., who is also a Malden resident, and U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D-5th District, who recently became a Revere resident — requesting assistance in fi nding answers about the overseas tragedy. In Malden, where Mallah’s family members still reside, Malden High School Principal Chris Mastrangelo announced Ms. Mallah’s passing on Tuesday via a Malden Public Schools email, off ering condolences from MHS and the school district. “I am sure that many have heard of the TRAGEDY | SEE Page 5 Councillors, residents cite overbuilding, voice opposition to state-mandated ADU’s By Th e Advocate everal city councillors and residents were distressed to learn this week that the city’s ordinance on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), better known as in-law apartments, needs to be amended to make way for a state mandate to allow all ADUs to be built by right; any place where single family homes are allowed. City Director of Planning and Community Development Tom Skwierawski said during this week’s public hearing that he was still waiting for a model ordinance from the state which will include design and dimensional standards but for now he reported that ADU’s could be 900 square feet or half the size of the single-family home it is built with. One woman opposed to the idea said Revere was overbuilt and overpopulated. “We want to help people but not everyone can live in Revere...There’s a whole big country out there, not everyone can come to Revere,” she said. Longtime resident Ed Terrell said the council needs to confront the issue of overdevelopment. “The quality of life in the city is going downhill,” he said. Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna agreed overbuilding is aff ecting the quality of life in Revere. “I’m so against this,” said McKenna. “We fought against this. All the work we’ve done ADU | SEE Page 3
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