Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today delivered the following remarks on the arrests of ALEXANDER GALLETT, MICHEL ST. JEAN, and YAMILEY MATHURIN for the Sept. 2 homicide of 58-year-old Richel Nova:

“This weekend we remember America’s working men and women, the laborers and salt of the earth who built our nation in the trades and services. Richel Nova was just such a man, but for his family this time will be remembered for something else – something terrible and tragic.

“Because while most of us were planning beach trips and barbecues, someone else was plotting the craven ambush that took Mr. Nova’s life. And now a family from Hyde Park plans to bury its patriarch, whose life was stolen along with the handful of dollar bills he carried.

“The investigation into Mr. Nova’s death has already yielded some strong evidence and we expect to develop much more in the days and weeks to come. Sgt. Det. James Wyse’s squad, along with Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Hickman and Mark Lee, has worked this case around the clock since early Thursday morning, and we won’t stop until his killers have been held to account.

“It will take time to determine exactly what happened inside 742 Hyde Park Avenue, but we can say this: Richel Nova was lured to his death. His killers likely didn’t target him personally, but they selected a worker who would be carrying the small amount of money they felt was worth a human life. They stabbed him repeatedly, killing him. They fled the scene in his car, taking the money and food he had brought.

“As prosecutors and police officers, we know that every life has value. We know that every family grieves and every community mourns when one of its own is taken. We commit the same resources to every single homicide case, regardless of who the victim may be and how his or her death is reported.

“But we also recognize that some murders are particularly chilling in their callousness. The stabbing death of Heureur Previlon, an aspiring minister killed in his taxicab five years ago, is a point of reference. So is the shooting death of Surendra Dangol, a peaceful Nepali immigrant shot to death behind a shop counter in Jamaica Plain last year. I put Mr. Nova’s murder in this category.

“They were working men who asked nothing more than the chance to earn an honest day’s pay. Their lives were taken as they labored long hours to support themselves and their families. They’re among those we should remember this weekend. And I ask you to keep their families in your prayers.”