IPSWICH — Five days after the owner of the Majestic Dragon was found dead, Ipswich is still reeling over the town's first homicide in decades.
Shui Keung Woo, who went by Tony, was found dead at his Route 1 restaurant on Tuesday morning by employees.
Investigators have yet to release details or the cause of Woo's death, leaving townspeople unsure of how and why the popular and friendly restaurateur was killed.
Yesterday afternoon, Steve O'Connell, spokesperson for District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, said he was unable to release further information as the investigation into Woo's death is active and ongoing.
Majestic Dragon customers and friends of Woo have organized a vigil for Monday night in downtown Ipswich. The gathering is for people to console each other, show support for and remember Woo, a generous and well-liked member of the community, said Ipswich resident Joni Soffron.
The vigil will be 6 to 9 p.m. on the hill at the intersection of Route 1A and Market Street, across from the Choate Bridge Pub.
"Anyone that went to the Dragon knew Tony," said Soffron, whose family owns the Wolf Hollow preserve on Route 133. "He was very generous to the community ... treated all of his customers like family."
"Since he was such a huge part of community, we thought the community should show how much we respected what he did for all of us," she said. "It's an incredibly tragic event. We in Ipswich, like a lot of little communities, say 'never in our town.' ... We don't want what happened to him to be forgotten."
Woo, a 62-year-old Quincy resident, had operated his family-run restaurant for more than two decades.
Investigators finished processing the crime scene at the Majestic Dragon around 6 p.m. Wednesday, O'Connell said. The yellow crime scene tape that surrounded the property for two days has come down, although the restaurant remains closed.
Workers have been cleared to reenter the business, but the restaurant has not been cleared by the Ipswich Health Department to reopen, Ipswich police Chief Paul Nikas said. Food supplies need to be evaluated and tested by health inspectors.
Nikas estimated the earliest the restaurant would reopen is next week , but the decision is up to the Woo family.
Although the restaurant is no longer a crime scene, there may be police investigators periodically in and around the Route 1 corridor looking for possible evidence, Nikas said.
Mark Newhall, who grew up on the North Shore and moved to Colorado in 2003, said he made a point of stopping into "the Dragon" when he returned to Massachusetts on business trips.
"Tony never forgot who I was, always was interested in my family and especially my kids, how we were all doing, how my business was doing," said Newhall in an email to the Salem News. "He was exceedingly generous with his time and always genuinely appreciated the loyalty of his customers. This sad, sad ordeal is an absolute tragedy on every level." [Obituary, page 6.]
Staff writer Bethany Bray can be reached at bbray@salemnews.com and on Twitter @SalemNewsBB.
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