When Nicole Lauria met Daniele Grovola more than a decade ago, it was clear that the little girl from Upper Darby would one day become a star employee at her karaoke company.
“She was amazing,” said Lauria, the owner of Lucky Music Productions. “A lot of people use the phrase, ‘She lit up a room.’ But she really did.”
Tragedy struck the Grovola family days before Christmas.
Daniele Grovola, 23, was found suffering fatal stab wounds in her family home in Secane the morning of Dec. 23.
Police arrested the girl’s mother, Diane, 57, who they have accused of stabbing her daughter to death early that morning and leaving her in an upstairs bedroom. Her husband John, the girl’s father, discovered the horrific scene as he arrived home from an overnight shift at the airport.
Friends of Daniele Grovola are equally shocked at a crime they are struggling to understand.
In the week since Grovola’s murder, they have launched a fundraiser to support John and cover the young woman’s funeral costs. The funds will also support veterinary bills for the family’s dog, Ezra, which police suspect Grovola’s mother also stabbed that morning.
And loved ones are sharing memories of Daniele, who brought joy and warmth to those she encountered.
Lauria first met John Grovola around 15 years ago when he made the leap from singing karaoke to joining Lucky Music as an equipment manager and DJ. The company hosts events at venues throughout Delaware County and Philadelphia.
Grovola soon began to bring around Daniele, who took a fast interest in her father’s work.
The father and daughter were “immensely close,” Lauria said. Following in her father’s footsteps, Grovola eventually joined Lucky Music herself, managing the company’s DJ equipment.
She was training to become a bar trivia host before she died.
The girl’s radiant personality shined on the job, according to Lauria, including at a karaoke party the company hosted in 2024 for children who had disabilities and were on the autism spectrum.
“[Daniele] was just amazing at encouraging them to sing, helping them to feel positive about themselves,” Lauria said. “She was just a warm person.”
Hailey Geller, 23, said she and Grovola had been best friends since the third grade. The girls went on to attend Upper Darby High School together.
“She was never a bother,” Geller said. “She was really good to me, and I was good to her.”
Grovola had her quirks, Geller said, humoring friends with her obsession with Sharpies. The girls would spend afternoons at the mall, where Grovola would hunt for the multicolored markers to use in her artwork.
She was an avid fan of anime shows, Geller added, and as a music lover, adored her headphones.
Geller said Grovola was always there to confide in. In recent months, however, some of the Grovola’s comments about her home life had concerned her.
Grovola told Geller that her mother had been “in and out” of local crisis centers. And Grovola described her mother as having “mental issues,” Geller said, once disclosing she had locked herself in the basement to avoid her.
Still, Geller believes Grovola did not share the complete story of possible tensions with her mother. Police have yet to identify a motive in the murder and continue to investigate.
Friends like Lauria said those who knew the Grovola family did not suspect such a crime was possible.
“It makes no sense,” Lauria said. “[Daniele] was a great daughter to her mother … loved her mother very much. This just came out of nowhere.”