'I called her my Lindsey Lou'

The pictures nearly covered the entire wall of the bedroom. A collage of family and friends from home and school documented 20 years' worth of memories. The Vincent Van Gogh print of "Café Terrace at Night" and a Bob Marley poster hung next to light-hearted doodles drawn during many hours spent in class.

In the main room, bright colored tapestries adorned the ceiling and walls. Posters of Sublime, the Dave Matthews Band and Pink Floyd decorated the walls amid numerous original works of art done by friends.

The independence that came with living off-campus in her Towne Court apartment gave sophomore Lindsey Bonistall the opportunity to create her own lifestyle.

Lindsey's father, Mark, said she wanted to chart her own course.

"She liked the idea of having her own place and the idea of working and paying her utility bills," he said.

"She told me she was financially independent and I chuckled. I told her, 'All you're doing is paying your utility bill.' "

Lindsey, 20, of White Plains, N.Y., was found strangled in her bathtub May 1 during an investigation of an early morning fire that was set in her apartment.

The once artsy apartment has been reduced to ash marks and water damage. The smell of smoke pervades the building, which is still blocked off by police tape.

According to police, the killer is still at large.

To those who knew her, Lindsey will always be remembered for her sense of humor and energetic personality.

Lindsey's sister, Kristen Bonistall, 22, said Lindsey had the ability to add humor to any situation.

"She would be the one that would be making it better for us all right now," she said through her tears. "She would be the one who would make us laugh and make us be happy again - she was joy."

Sophomore Jon Little, Lindsey's former boyfriend from freshman year, said he and his friends agreed Lindsey would want them to be happy regardless of the tragic situation.

"If she were here, she'd be making jokes and laughing about it and saying, 'Guys don't worry about it,' " he said. "She just had that attitude where she was always happy."

Laughing, her sister recalled Lindsey's habit of making funny faces in pictures.

"She always felt if she wouldn't be looking her 100 percent best in the picture, she might as well be licking someone's face," she said.

All who knew her said humor encapsulated Lindsey's life.

Comedy Central was constantly on the TV in their apartment. It was common knowledge that Lindsey's favorite movies were "Old School," "Office Space," "Super Troopers" and "13 Going on 30" because she would recite lines verbatim to the amusement of friends.

Sophomore Christine Bush, Lindsey's roommate, sophomore Nicole Gengaro and Lindsey, who met after living in Dickinson B residence hall their freshman year. They were inseparable.

"We were just obsessed with each other from the moment we met," Christine said.

Sophomore Maura Brosnan, a close friend who grew up with Lindsey, recalled her outgoing personality.

"She always had the most inappropriate joke at just the appropriate moment," she said.

Junior Paul Wachter, who dated Lindsey during Fall Semester and worked with her at Café Gelato, said her laugh accompanied her charismatic personality.

"She had a very unique laugh," he said. "She kind of tilted her head back. It was very honest." Lindsey's sense of humor showed through her writing, Christine said, especially in the book she was planning to write about her large, close-knit Irish-Catholic family.

"She was going to write about specific stories from family functions and kind of make fun of her family in a good way," she said.

Lindsey had already started writing the first chapter and had read parts to Christine.

Kathleen Bonistall, Lindsey's mother, said during her years at Good Counsel Academy high school, Lindsey occupied her time as senior class president, captain of the soccer and track teams, member of two cheerleading squads, Universal Cheerleading Association instructor, a competitive diver and volunteer, among other activities.

"Anything she decided she wanted to do, she did, and she put her whole heart and soul in it and did it well," she said.

Lindsey made the cheerleading squad and the dive team her freshman year at the university, but decided against pursuing these activities.

Jon said Lindsey gained a new perspective between high school and college.

"She got a new approach on life," he said.

Instead of busying herself with too many activities, Nicole said, Lindsey figured out her niche.

Despite having a guaranteed transfer to Cornell University for her sophomore year, Lindsey decided to stay in Newark because she grew accustomed to her friends and lifestyle.

Originally a biology major with aspirations to become a doctor, Lindsey realized her interest in writing and turned to English/journalism.

"She just flip-flopped her major and was full-steam ahead with journalism," her father said. "It really lit up her lamp when she got published [in The Review]."

Mckay Jenkins, journalism professor, said he enjoyed teaching Lindsey because of her curiosity.

"She struck me as somebody who was not afraid to say she didn't know something," he said. "There was no pretension about her.

"She wasn't pretending to be a super-reporter, she just wanted to learn what she could learn."

Her mother recalled Lindsey's many accomplishments and noted her last as covering the Philadelphia Flower Show, which was published on the front page of The Review's Mosaic section.

"She was so proud of that," she said.

Friends noted Lindsey's close relationship with her father.

Megan said Lindsey spoke of her father all of the time, which she found rare for a college student.