Flowers are left outside the Sleepy Hollow home of Theresa Gorski, a Legal Aid attorney who died after an alleged domestic violence incident.
Courtesy K. Madsen, Tarrytown-Sleepy Hollow.Patch
Grief-stricken colleagues of Theresa Gorski, a 47-year-old Legal Aid Society attorney who devoted the last decade of her career to advocating for children, met with counselors yesterday in the aftermath of what was described as a domestic violence-related death.
"She was a hard worker who cared about children and every day made a difference in their lives through her passionate advocacy," said Steven Banks, attorney-in-chief of Legal Aid. "She was a passionate advocate for the children that she represented over the course of 11 years at The Legal Aid Society. She was a beloved colleague of staff in our Bronx Juvenile Rights Office and she will be sorely missed by the entire juvenile rights staff and Legal Aid Society across the city."
Gorski died Jan. 9 when she was removed from life support at Phelps Memorial Hospital, a short distance from her home in Sleepy Hollow, Westchester County. According to law enforcement, she allegedly was choked early on the morning of Jan. 5 by her husband, Christopher Howson, in the home they shared with their 5- and 8-year-old daughters.
Howson, 49, was charged with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree strangulation. Additional charges are pending now that Gorski has died.
Banks said Gorski was "driven by the importance of making a difference for children so they would have a chance in life." He said grief counseling has been offered to staff struggling to deal with "a feeling of tremendous loss."
Legal Aid's Juvenile Rights Practice represents about 90 percent of the children appearing in Family Court on child protective, juvenile delinquency and termination of parental rights cases, according to Legal Aid's website. Its lawyers serve as attorneys for the children to protect their interests.
Banks said Gorski, who was admitted in 1991 after graduating from Columbia Law School, joined Legal Aid in 2001.
Jessica Brenes, an assistant advocate for the New York City Police Department and former attorney with the Administration for Children's Services, described her sometime adversary as a "champion for children" who was extraordinarily well prepared, and whose low-key, soft-spoken nature was left at the doorstep when she went to court.
"Theresa was not particularly outgoing or aggressive, but when it came to her clients, Theresa was there for her clients and nobody else," Brenes recalled. "She was passionate about her work, passionate about the things they were going through. It was amazing to me that, even having small children at home, she found the time to put as much work as she did into her cases."
Brenes said Gorski rarely spoke of personal matters and she never heard of or saw any indication of domestic violence.
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