Finn, 18, was murdered while visiting her ex-boyfriend at her home in Nesconset on Wednesday, before she attempted to kill herself but survived, police said.
She danced for more than four years at the American Ballet Studio in Bayport, where she studied traditional ballet and participated in several performances of “The Nutcracker” before heading to classes at SUNY Oneonta in August, said Kathy Kearns-Scholz, the studio’s artistic director.
“She had everything in front of her. She would have been the best teacher, mother and whoever she wanted to be,” Kearns-Scholz said Friday. “His personality was warm and welcoming. He was everything a parent wants in a child and teachers want in their classroom.”
Police said Finn came home from college this week to return her belongings to her ex-boyfriend, after they broke up a few weeks ago.
According to police, the day before his 18th birthday, the former 17-year-old fired two shots from a legally owned firearm in the home – one shot that killed Finn and the other shot that hit him in the face in what he shot himself. The teen’s father came inside and called 911, police said.
The teen remained in critical but stable condition Friday while awaiting arraignment on a charge of second-degree murder. Police did not release his name because he was a minor at the time of the shooting.
The Suffolk County district attorney and court officials said no arraignment date has been set. The teen is recovering from his injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital. There was no indication that he had a defense attorney and it was unclear whether he would be tried as a juvenile or an adult.
Cairns-Scholz said the American Ballet Studio canceled its performance in Saturday’s Seville Holiday Parade and the community’s Miracle on Main tree-lighting festival. She said grief counselors will be available to students when they return for rehearsals on Monday.
Many students danced with Finn and looked up to him, he said. The studio planned to dedicate this year’s performance of “The Nutcracker” to Finn, and hoped to start a scholarship in his memory.
Cairns-Scholz said, “We all couldn’t believe it. We’re a very close-knit studio.” “She was the best, kind, talented and beautiful leader. She was loved by everyone and there was no one who did not look up to her.”
Finn took classes at the studio at least four days per week in addition to additional classes to learn ballet technique, Cairns-Scholz said. She was also chairwoman of fundraising for the ballet studio.
She also taught small classes. In “The Nutcracker” performances, Finn danced the lead role, the Dew Drop Fairy, in Waltz of the Flowers, among other roles.
Finn was taking classes at Suffolk BOCES while at Seville High School. She wanted to study elementary education, Kearns-Scholz said. Finn brought her ex-boyfriend with her to several dance events, but Cairns-Scholz said she did not know him well.
She said Finn went to the studio about two weeks ago to greet the instructors and her friends who were still taking classes.
“She was very nice, met new people and was always a great student,” Cairns-Scholz said. “I thought she was so happy and couldn’t wait to start a new chapter in her life.”
Family friends set up a fundraising account to support Finn’s family, which had raised more than $65,000 as of Friday evening.
Seville High School held a 10-second moment of silence for Finn at Hofstra University before Seville’s football game against Wantagh for the Long Island Class III championship on Friday. Grief counselors will be at Seville High School on Monday, school officials said.
The Seville Alumni Association was also mourning the loss of Finn, saying that his death “leaves an indelible void where a future of promise once stood.”
“We are completely devastated. Our alumni community has lost one of its brightest lights in a senseless and unimaginable tragedy,” the association said in a statement. “We are united in our grief and heartbreak. In this darkness, our hearts go out to Emily’s family and close friends. We share in the weight of their loss.”
Services for Finn are scheduled for Sunday from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Raynor & D’Andrea Funeral Home in West Seville. A church service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. John Lutheran Church in Seville. According to the funeral home, her family has asked guests to wear her favorite color, “pink.”
Newsday’s Grant Parpan and Matt Lindsay contributed to this story.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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