Graveside encounter yields change of heart

[Ian David]

Graveside encounter yields change of heart

By Associated Press | July 29, 2007

HUDSON, N.H. -- A mother's chance meeting in the cemetery with the teen accused of causing her son's death in a car crash has prompted a change of heart, and now she says she does not want the teen to go to jail.

Patty Cyr was reading the new "Harry Potter" book to her son's grave on Tuesday when Michael Ramirez walked into St. Patrick Cemetery.

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"He asked me, 'Patty, can I please hug you?' I said 'yes,' and he hugged me so hard I thought I was going to break in half. He said he thinks about Nathan and prays to him every day, and that he's so sorry he hurt my family," she said.

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Prosecutors had reached a plea deal that would have spared Ramirez jail time, but they withdrew it last month after the victim's family found photos on a MySpace site showing Ramirez apparently participating taking part in an underage drinking party.

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