‘Unbelievable’: Peabody teen dies in medical emergency during wrestling practice

PEABODY, Mass. — More than 100 friends and family members honored a Peabody 17-year-old who died in a medical emergency during wrestling practice last weekend, school officials said.

Those who attended the vigil Tuesday held candles and balloons in memory of Freddy Espinal who died on Sunday.

Details on what led to the emergency and whether the teen had an underlying condition were not known.

The beloved junior at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School wrestled for his school during the winter seasons and for local clubs throughout the rest of the year. He was also a former football player.

Sunday’s incident did not occur on school property or involve the school but rather a separate program and facility.

Freddy’s girlfriend, Gisella Candido, told Boston 25 News she is in shock by her boyfriend’s death.

“At first it was unbelievable. I was just with him on Friday. I was just hugging him, holding him. And then just like that he’s gone,” Candido said. “He was stubborn, he was caring, he would always go out of his way to make sure that people were okay.

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Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker commended Freddy on his role as peer counselor in the county’s summer day camp, posting a photo of Freddy and himself on Facebook in August. Tucker also said Freddy visited his office with his father and spoke to him about Freddy’s dream of becoming a police officer.

“A respectful, police and personable young man who will follow his dream and succeed,” Tucker wrote of the promising teen.

In a letter to families, Peabody Veterans Memorial High School Principal Brooke Randall called Freddy a “kind and talented young man and student-athlete with an infectious smile, who will be dearly missed by the entire PVMHS community.”

The school made grief counselors and comfort dogs available for students Monday.

Randall told Boston 25 News the school is working on a special way to honor Freddy in the coming weeks.

One of Freddy’s wrestling coaches started a GoFundMe account to help his family cover funeral expenses. The fundraiser had surpassed $40,000 by Tuesday night.