Loved ones, friends and community members came together in northwest Indiana on Friday night to honor a mother and her three daughters who were killed in a murder-suicide.
Briana Payne, 27, and her daughters: Alayna, 4, Ava, 6 and Aurorah, 7, were found dead inside a home in Lake Station on Feb. 21, according to the Lake County Coroner's Office. Relatives said Briana Payne had previously asked for a divorce. Police haven't confirmed if the incident was domestic violence-related.
A vigil, which took place at the elementary school where Aurorah attended, began by giving a teddy bear to each of her classmates, who are now grieving the young girl's loss.
""I miss her a lot, and I would like to give her one more hug," one classmate said.
"This should never happen to anyone," another stated.
Lili Owens, Briana's mother, described her as someone who was always willing to help others.
"She was there for everybody, anybody that needed anything at all done, all they had to do was call Bri, 'Bri will do it.' and Bri would do it," she said.
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Owens said when her granddaughters were around - you sure knew it.
"They had so much energy... there was just no quiet moments around them," she said. "What I would give now to have just the moment to have them making all that noise again, just a moment more with them. It was too soon."
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Owens spent the majority of time with her daughter and granddaughters, who were everything to her.
"They were the light," she said. "They were the biggest sunshine. Ever since this happened, that's all I can think about is my light is gone, my light is gone."
