When Karen Bird-Nowicki heard the name and saw a photograph on television, she knew the woman fatally stabbed in London this week was a friend from her high school days in Akron.
“I was so shocked. It’s so sad that her life ended that way,” Nowicki said of Darlene Horton, who lived in Florida.
Kenmore High School Class of 1970 alumni were shocked to learn that the woman killed late Wednesday by a teenager who went on a knife rampage was one of them.
London police said Thursday that the stabbing by a Somali-Norwegian teenager wasn’t terrorism, but following attacks elsewhere in Europe, authorities at first responded as if it were. Five other people were wounded in the attack at London’s busy Russell Square. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a prepared statement that the violence appeared to have been “triggered by mental health issues.”
Horton, 64, was married to Rick Wagner, who also graduated from Kenmore High in 1970, according to classmates. Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University in Tallahassee, had been teaching summer classes in London.
Russell Square, where Horton was attacked, is a few blocks from the FSU Study Centre, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The center is home to the FSU London Program.
Janet Kistner, FSU’s vice president for faculty development and advancement, told the newspaper that Horton was a vibrant person who was very involved with her tight-knit family.
Georgia news station WALB-TV said Horton had worked for the Thomasville, Ga., school district, about 35 miles from Tallahassee. Superintendent Sabrina Boykins-Everett told the station that Horton worked for the district for almost 20 years and retired in either 2002 or 2003.
Nowicki, who lives in Akron, recalled that Horton worked her way through the University of Akron, working at an Akron Kmart.
Horton graduated from UA in 1978, receiving a bachelor’s of science degree in education, according to the university.
“She was fun, but serious when she had to be,” said Nowicki, who recalled that she and Horton were part of a group of high school students who hung around together, going to movies, dances and various places to hear bands.
“She was fun and smart,” recalled former classmate Lois Bowers, who lives in Florida, and heard about Horton’s passing from Nowicki. “She was this cute little redhead.”
Former classmates expressed grief on the Kenmore Class of 1970 Facebook page.
“Darlene Horton and Rick Wagner, sweet and godly souls both,” one former classmate said.
“Oh my God. I have known Darlene and Rick since our days together at Smith [Elementary] School. How sad and senseless,” said another.
“Darlene was such a good person and will be sadly missed,” said another classmate. “Another taken so young. RIP Darlene.”
Horton’s mother died when she was in junior high or high school, former classmates recalled.
Horton has family members in the Akron area who could not be reached for comment Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.