Kayla Shawn Billings
(November 07, 2008 ~ October 15, 2019)
***
Kayla Shawn Billings, 10, of Miami Oklahoma passed away on October 15, 2019. She would have been 11 years old November 7th.
Kayla was born on November 7, 2008.
She loved music, art and was secretly a mermaid and loved to swim. She loved to dance, sing and dress boldly. She enjoyed to get into her sisters closet and play dress up with her clothing and do make overs with her sister and friends. She was compassionate. She was stubborn but caring. Kayla loved telling imaginative stories, entertaining her cousins and playing with them, also teasing them.
Kayla had Jesus in her heart and loved Him. She loved to watch YouTube videos with her sister. She had an artistic view and she was admired by her cousins her many friends at Nichols elementary School. She had an inner light that would illuminate every room she entered and left it shining with love, kindness and an imagination that would be left in everyone’s heart.
Kayla is survived by her momma Melissa Wallace and her sissy Taliah Zapata. Her grandparents Carrie Eppler and Ray Shoemaker of Quapaw, Oklahoma. Uncle Jerome and Meghan Wallace and their children of Globe, Arizona, Uncle Ted and Aunt Tara Damann and their children of Miami, Oklahoma, Uncle Josh and Aunt Marie and their children of Miami, Oklahoma and many more aunts, uncles, cousins, great cousins and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, October 28, 2019 at the First Christian Church, Miami, OK.
Burial will follow in the G.A.R. Cemetery. Pastor David Frazier will officiate.
Family request that all those in attendance where (sic) [wear] bright rainbow colors in her memory.
In lieu of flowers family ask that memorial donations be made to Hospitality House of Tulsa, P.O. Box 14472, Tulsa, OK 74159 or Community Crisis Center of NE Oklahoma, 118 A. St. SE, Miami, OK 74354 in care of the funeral home or by mail.
Pallbearers for the service are; Joshua Wallace, Jerome Wallace, Ray Shoemaker, Ted Damann, Dillon Mills, and Sean Muise.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.derfeltfuneralhomes.com.
Site has photo.
~*~
*~*
We’ve merged a duplicate memorial into a memorial you manage.
The following information from the duplicate memorial was added to Kayla Billings (204134509):
Death Location: Changed from empty → Miami, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States of America.
Family: One or more family members were added, Father: David Billings. Six more photos.
~*~
*~*
Miami PD: OSBI assisting in murder-suicide investigation
POSTED 11:17 AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019, BY KAYLEE DOUGLAS,
UPDATED AT 11:20AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019
MIAMI, Okla. (KFOR) – The Miami Police Department says they are working with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) in the investigation of an apparent murder-suicide that occurred last night.
Miami Police were called to a shooting in the 200 block of I Street NW around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
When officers arrived, they found two people dead and two others injured.
Officials say the suspected shooter, 39-year-old David Billings, and his daughter, 11-year-old Kayla Billings were found dead.
Kayla’s mother and David’s ex, 38-year-old Melissa Wallace, who was pregnant, was injured, as well as Wallace’s boyfriend, 38-year-old James Miller. They were flown to Tulsa hospitals to be treated. Miami PD says their conditions are stable.
The Miami Police Department says Billings died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Miller called 911 and reported Billings was in the house shooting people.
David Billings and Melissa Wallace have been having on-going domestic disputes, according to police.
Officials with the Miami Police Department say they have reached out to Miami Public Schools and has offered assistance in handling the death of a Miami student.
~*~
*~*
Miami girl called ‘light in a dark world’
PHOTO
By Jim Ellis / [email protected]
Posted Oct 19, 2019 at 9:27 PM
MIAMI — Kayla Billings’ time on earth was all-too-brief, but she was “a light on a dark world,” according to a member of the Miami Police Department chaplain corps.
“Kayla made an impact the short time she was here, on friends and family,” said Darla Sajulga prior to the start of a candlelight vigil held in Kayla’s honor at Rotary Park.
Sajulga works for the Northeast Tribal Health System, which conducts a weeklong summer program for youth that Kayla attended.
“We got to know her, we got to spend a day with her every day,” Sajulga said. “She was a blessing. She was a blessing; a leader. You always know that leader personality and that leader mentality. If there was somebody outcast, she would be the first one to be there so they didn’t have to stand alone.”
Kayla, 11 and a fifth grader at Miami’s Nichols Upper Elementary, was killed Tuesday, Oct. 15 in what Miami police are calling a murder-suicide.
Her mother, Melissa Wallace and James Miller, the fiancé of Melissa Wallace, remained hospitalized in Tulsa as of Friday night.
The apparent shooter, David Billings, who is Kayla’s father, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the MPD says.
An estimated 1,000 family, friends and those from the community attended the event, which included Kristi Bauer, also a member of the MPD chaplain corps.
“It’s heartbreaking; heart wrenching, but it’s a part of the healing process for the community because the whole community has been touched,” said Kristi Bauer, another member of the chaplain corps.
“At a time like this, its easy for the community to want to reach out and point the blame at somebody. But the blame is the loss,” she said. “Not the law enforcement agencies, not our local police authorities, but the law itself. Domestic violence is real. It’s devastating.”
Tuesday’s incident was the culmination of what reportedly had been an ongoing domestic issue.
“It may take a while — yes, it will — but Kayla’s life was not in vain,” Bauer said during a message at the vigil. “Her voice needs go to out into the highways and the byways. Up and down every street, into every community. Let her voice be heard. Let the multitudes of them who have experienced domestic violence and those who will know your pain.
“Let Kayla speak tonight for all those women and children who will be affected in the future.”
Bauer said she hopes that Melissa Wallace will join the fight on the local, state and national level to change laws regarding domestic violence.
A fundraiser for Kayla and her family will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 at Miami’s “Rocket Park.
Donations of money or gift cards will be accepted.
There will be cards available to those attending so they can write their own condolences and prayers to the family.
A number of items have been donated for a raffle, with proceeds going to the family.
“Lets step up as one community and not let this family fight this battle alone,” said event co-organizer Branden Blevins.
“I really just want the community to become even closer at these times when something like this happens. Just so families like this can still hold faith and be strong because there is a full community that is there supporting them.
“And the victims of times like this know they are not alone and to not give up,” he said.
~*~
*~*
(November 07, 2008 ~ October 15, 2019)
***
Kayla Shawn Billings, 10, of Miami Oklahoma passed away on October 15, 2019. She would have been 11 years old November 7th.
Kayla was born on November 7, 2008.
She loved music, art and was secretly a mermaid and loved to swim. She loved to dance, sing and dress boldly. She enjoyed to get into her sisters closet and play dress up with her clothing and do make overs with her sister and friends. She was compassionate. She was stubborn but caring. Kayla loved telling imaginative stories, entertaining her cousins and playing with them, also teasing them.
Kayla had Jesus in her heart and loved Him. She loved to watch YouTube videos with her sister. She had an artistic view and she was admired by her cousins her many friends at Nichols elementary School. She had an inner light that would illuminate every room she entered and left it shining with love, kindness and an imagination that would be left in everyone’s heart.
Kayla is survived by her momma Melissa Wallace and her sissy Taliah Zapata. Her grandparents Carrie Eppler and Ray Shoemaker of Quapaw, Oklahoma. Uncle Jerome and Meghan Wallace and their children of Globe, Arizona, Uncle Ted and Aunt Tara Damann and their children of Miami, Oklahoma, Uncle Josh and Aunt Marie and their children of Miami, Oklahoma and many more aunts, uncles, cousins, great cousins and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, October 28, 2019 at the First Christian Church, Miami, OK.
Burial will follow in the G.A.R. Cemetery. Pastor David Frazier will officiate.
Family request that all those in attendance where (sic) [wear] bright rainbow colors in her memory.
In lieu of flowers family ask that memorial donations be made to Hospitality House of Tulsa, P.O. Box 14472, Tulsa, OK 74159 or Community Crisis Center of NE Oklahoma, 118 A. St. SE, Miami, OK 74354 in care of the funeral home or by mail.
Pallbearers for the service are; Joshua Wallace, Jerome Wallace, Ray Shoemaker, Ted Damann, Dillon Mills, and Sean Muise.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.derfeltfuneralhomes.com.
Site has photo.
~*~
*~*
We’ve merged a duplicate memorial into a memorial you manage.
The following information from the duplicate memorial was added to Kayla Billings (204134509):
Death Location: Changed from empty → Miami, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States of America.
Family: One or more family members were added, Father: David Billings. Six more photos.
~*~
*~*
Miami PD: OSBI assisting in murder-suicide investigation
POSTED 11:17 AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019, BY KAYLEE DOUGLAS,
UPDATED AT 11:20AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019
MIAMI, Okla. (KFOR) – The Miami Police Department says they are working with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) in the investigation of an apparent murder-suicide that occurred last night.
Miami Police were called to a shooting in the 200 block of I Street NW around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
When officers arrived, they found two people dead and two others injured.
Officials say the suspected shooter, 39-year-old David Billings, and his daughter, 11-year-old Kayla Billings were found dead.
Kayla’s mother and David’s ex, 38-year-old Melissa Wallace, who was pregnant, was injured, as well as Wallace’s boyfriend, 38-year-old James Miller. They were flown to Tulsa hospitals to be treated. Miami PD says their conditions are stable.
The Miami Police Department says Billings died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Miller called 911 and reported Billings was in the house shooting people.
David Billings and Melissa Wallace have been having on-going domestic disputes, according to police.
Officials with the Miami Police Department say they have reached out to Miami Public Schools and has offered assistance in handling the death of a Miami student.
~*~
*~*
Miami girl called ‘light in a dark world’
PHOTO
By Jim Ellis / [email protected]
Posted Oct 19, 2019 at 9:27 PM
MIAMI — Kayla Billings’ time on earth was all-too-brief, but she was “a light on a dark world,” according to a member of the Miami Police Department chaplain corps.
“Kayla made an impact the short time she was here, on friends and family,” said Darla Sajulga prior to the start of a candlelight vigil held in Kayla’s honor at Rotary Park.
Sajulga works for the Northeast Tribal Health System, which conducts a weeklong summer program for youth that Kayla attended.
“We got to know her, we got to spend a day with her every day,” Sajulga said. “She was a blessing. She was a blessing; a leader. You always know that leader personality and that leader mentality. If there was somebody outcast, she would be the first one to be there so they didn’t have to stand alone.”
Kayla, 11 and a fifth grader at Miami’s Nichols Upper Elementary, was killed Tuesday, Oct. 15 in what Miami police are calling a murder-suicide.
Her mother, Melissa Wallace and James Miller, the fiancé of Melissa Wallace, remained hospitalized in Tulsa as of Friday night.
The apparent shooter, David Billings, who is Kayla’s father, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the MPD says.
An estimated 1,000 family, friends and those from the community attended the event, which included Kristi Bauer, also a member of the MPD chaplain corps.
“It’s heartbreaking; heart wrenching, but it’s a part of the healing process for the community because the whole community has been touched,” said Kristi Bauer, another member of the chaplain corps.
“At a time like this, its easy for the community to want to reach out and point the blame at somebody. But the blame is the loss,” she said. “Not the law enforcement agencies, not our local police authorities, but the law itself. Domestic violence is real. It’s devastating.”
Tuesday’s incident was the culmination of what reportedly had been an ongoing domestic issue.
“It may take a while — yes, it will — but Kayla’s life was not in vain,” Bauer said during a message at the vigil. “Her voice needs go to out into the highways and the byways. Up and down every street, into every community. Let her voice be heard. Let the multitudes of them who have experienced domestic violence and those who will know your pain.
“Let Kayla speak tonight for all those women and children who will be affected in the future.”
Bauer said she hopes that Melissa Wallace will join the fight on the local, state and national level to change laws regarding domestic violence.
A fundraiser for Kayla and her family will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 at Miami’s “Rocket Park.
Donations of money or gift cards will be accepted.
There will be cards available to those attending so they can write their own condolences and prayers to the family.
A number of items have been donated for a raffle, with proceeds going to the family.
“Lets step up as one community and not let this family fight this battle alone,” said event co-organizer Branden Blevins.
“I really just want the community to become even closer at these times when something like this happens. Just so families like this can still hold faith and be strong because there is a full community that is there supporting them.
“And the victims of times like this know they are not alone and to not give up,” he said.
~*~
*~*
Kayla Shawn Billings
(November 07, 2008 ~ October 15, 2019)
***
Kayla Shawn Billings, 10, of Miami Oklahoma passed away on October 15, 2019. She would have been 11 years old November 7th.
Kayla was born on November 7, 2008.
She loved music, art and was secretly a mermaid and loved to swim. She loved to dance, sing and dress boldly. She enjoyed to get into her sisters closet and play dress up with her clothing and do make overs with her sister and friends. She was compassionate. She was stubborn but caring. Kayla loved telling imaginative stories, entertaining her cousins and playing with them, also teasing them.
Kayla had Jesus in her heart and loved Him. She loved to watch YouTube videos with her sister. She had an artistic view and she was admired by her cousins her many friends at Nichols elementary School. She had an inner light that would illuminate every room she entered and left it shining with love, kindness and an imagination that would be left in everyone’s heart.
Kayla is survived by her momma Melissa Wallace and her sissy Taliah Zapata. Her grandparents Carrie Eppler and Ray Shoemaker of Quapaw, Oklahoma. Uncle Jerome and Meghan Wallace and their children of Globe, Arizona, Uncle Ted and Aunt Tara Damann and their children of Miami, Oklahoma, Uncle Josh and Aunt Marie and their children of Miami, Oklahoma and many more aunts, uncles, cousins, great cousins and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, October 28, 2019 at the First Christian Church, Miami, OK.
Burial will follow in the G.A.R. Cemetery. Pastor David Frazier will officiate.
Family request that all those in attendance where (sic) [wear] bright rainbow colors in her memory.
In lieu of flowers family ask that memorial donations be made to Hospitality House of Tulsa, P.O. Box 14472, Tulsa, OK 74159 or Community Crisis Center of NE Oklahoma, 118 A. St. SE, Miami, OK 74354 in care of the funeral home or by mail.
Pallbearers for the service are; Joshua Wallace, Jerome Wallace, Ray Shoemaker, Ted Damann, Dillon Mills, and Sean Muise.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.derfeltfuneralhomes.com.
Site has photo.
~*~
*~*
We’ve merged a duplicate memorial into a memorial you manage.
The following information from the duplicate memorial was added to Kayla Billings (204134509):
Death Location: Changed from empty → Miami, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States of America.
Family: One or more family members were added, Father: David Billings. Six more photos.
~*~
*~*
Miami PD: OSBI assisting in murder-suicide investigation
POSTED 11:17 AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019, BY KAYLEE DOUGLAS,
UPDATED AT 11:20AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019
MIAMI, Okla. (KFOR) – The Miami Police Department says they are working with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) in the investigation of an apparent murder-suicide that occurred last night.
Miami Police were called to a shooting in the 200 block of I Street NW around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
When officers arrived, they found two people dead and two others injured.
Officials say the suspected shooter, 39-year-old David Billings, and his daughter, 11-year-old Kayla Billings were found dead.
Kayla’s mother and David’s ex, 38-year-old Melissa Wallace, who was pregnant, was injured, as well as Wallace’s boyfriend, 38-year-old James Miller. They were flown to Tulsa hospitals to be treated. Miami PD says their conditions are stable.
The Miami Police Department says Billings died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Miller called 911 and reported Billings was in the house shooting people.
David Billings and Melissa Wallace have been having on-going domestic disputes, according to police.
Officials with the Miami Police Department say they have reached out to Miami Public Schools and has offered assistance in handling the death of a Miami student.
~*~
*~*
Miami girl called ‘light in a dark world’
PHOTO
By Jim Ellis / [email protected]
Posted Oct 19, 2019 at 9:27 PM
MIAMI — Kayla Billings’ time on earth was all-too-brief, but she was “a light on a dark world,” according to a member of the Miami Police Department chaplain corps.
“Kayla made an impact the short time she was here, on friends and family,” said Darla Sajulga prior to the start of a candlelight vigil held in Kayla’s honor at Rotary Park.
Sajulga works for the Northeast Tribal Health System, which conducts a weeklong summer program for youth that Kayla attended.
“We got to know her, we got to spend a day with her every day,” Sajulga said. “She was a blessing. She was a blessing; a leader. You always know that leader personality and that leader mentality. If there was somebody outcast, she would be the first one to be there so they didn’t have to stand alone.”
Kayla, 11 and a fifth grader at Miami’s Nichols Upper Elementary, was killed Tuesday, Oct. 15 in what Miami police are calling a murder-suicide.
Her mother, Melissa Wallace and James Miller, the fiancé of Melissa Wallace, remained hospitalized in Tulsa as of Friday night.
The apparent shooter, David Billings, who is Kayla’s father, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the MPD says.
An estimated 1,000 family, friends and those from the community attended the event, which included Kristi Bauer, also a member of the MPD chaplain corps.
“It’s heartbreaking; heart wrenching, but it’s a part of the healing process for the community because the whole community has been touched,” said Kristi Bauer, another member of the chaplain corps.
“At a time like this, its easy for the community to want to reach out and point the blame at somebody. But the blame is the loss,” she said. “Not the law enforcement agencies, not our local police authorities, but the law itself. Domestic violence is real. It’s devastating.”
Tuesday’s incident was the culmination of what reportedly had been an ongoing domestic issue.
“It may take a while — yes, it will — but Kayla’s life was not in vain,” Bauer said during a message at the vigil. “Her voice needs go to out into the highways and the byways. Up and down every street, into every community. Let her voice be heard. Let the multitudes of them who have experienced domestic violence and those who will know your pain.
“Let Kayla speak tonight for all those women and children who will be affected in the future.”
Bauer said she hopes that Melissa Wallace will join the fight on the local, state and national level to change laws regarding domestic violence.
A fundraiser for Kayla and her family will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 at Miami’s “Rocket Park.
Donations of money or gift cards will be accepted.
There will be cards available to those attending so they can write their own condolences and prayers to the family.
A number of items have been donated for a raffle, with proceeds going to the family.
“Lets step up as one community and not let this family fight this battle alone,” said event co-organizer Branden Blevins.
“I really just want the community to become even closer at these times when something like this happens. Just so families like this can still hold faith and be strong because there is a full community that is there supporting them.
“And the victims of times like this know they are not alone and to not give up,” he said.
~*~
*~*
(November 07, 2008 ~ October 15, 2019)
***
Kayla Shawn Billings, 10, of Miami Oklahoma passed away on October 15, 2019. She would have been 11 years old November 7th.
Kayla was born on November 7, 2008.
She loved music, art and was secretly a mermaid and loved to swim. She loved to dance, sing and dress boldly. She enjoyed to get into her sisters closet and play dress up with her clothing and do make overs with her sister and friends. She was compassionate. She was stubborn but caring. Kayla loved telling imaginative stories, entertaining her cousins and playing with them, also teasing them.
Kayla had Jesus in her heart and loved Him. She loved to watch YouTube videos with her sister. She had an artistic view and she was admired by her cousins her many friends at Nichols elementary School. She had an inner light that would illuminate every room she entered and left it shining with love, kindness and an imagination that would be left in everyone’s heart.
Kayla is survived by her momma Melissa Wallace and her sissy Taliah Zapata. Her grandparents Carrie Eppler and Ray Shoemaker of Quapaw, Oklahoma. Uncle Jerome and Meghan Wallace and their children of Globe, Arizona, Uncle Ted and Aunt Tara Damann and their children of Miami, Oklahoma, Uncle Josh and Aunt Marie and their children of Miami, Oklahoma and many more aunts, uncles, cousins, great cousins and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, October 28, 2019 at the First Christian Church, Miami, OK.
Burial will follow in the G.A.R. Cemetery. Pastor David Frazier will officiate.
Family request that all those in attendance where (sic) [wear] bright rainbow colors in her memory.
In lieu of flowers family ask that memorial donations be made to Hospitality House of Tulsa, P.O. Box 14472, Tulsa, OK 74159 or Community Crisis Center of NE Oklahoma, 118 A. St. SE, Miami, OK 74354 in care of the funeral home or by mail.
Pallbearers for the service are; Joshua Wallace, Jerome Wallace, Ray Shoemaker, Ted Damann, Dillon Mills, and Sean Muise.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.derfeltfuneralhomes.com.
Site has photo.
~*~
*~*
We’ve merged a duplicate memorial into a memorial you manage.
The following information from the duplicate memorial was added to Kayla Billings (204134509):
Death Location: Changed from empty → Miami, Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States of America.
Family: One or more family members were added, Father: David Billings. Six more photos.
~*~
*~*
Miami PD: OSBI assisting in murder-suicide investigation
POSTED 11:17 AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019, BY KAYLEE DOUGLAS,
UPDATED AT 11:20AM, OCTOBER 16, 2019
MIAMI, Okla. (KFOR) – The Miami Police Department says they are working with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) in the investigation of an apparent murder-suicide that occurred last night.
Miami Police were called to a shooting in the 200 block of I Street NW around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
When officers arrived, they found two people dead and two others injured.
Officials say the suspected shooter, 39-year-old David Billings, and his daughter, 11-year-old Kayla Billings were found dead.
Kayla’s mother and David’s ex, 38-year-old Melissa Wallace, who was pregnant, was injured, as well as Wallace’s boyfriend, 38-year-old James Miller. They were flown to Tulsa hospitals to be treated. Miami PD says their conditions are stable.
The Miami Police Department says Billings died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Miller called 911 and reported Billings was in the house shooting people.
David Billings and Melissa Wallace have been having on-going domestic disputes, according to police.
Officials with the Miami Police Department say they have reached out to Miami Public Schools and has offered assistance in handling the death of a Miami student.
~*~
*~*
Miami girl called ‘light in a dark world’
PHOTO
By Jim Ellis / [email protected]
Posted Oct 19, 2019 at 9:27 PM
MIAMI — Kayla Billings’ time on earth was all-too-brief, but she was “a light on a dark world,” according to a member of the Miami Police Department chaplain corps.
“Kayla made an impact the short time she was here, on friends and family,” said Darla Sajulga prior to the start of a candlelight vigil held in Kayla’s honor at Rotary Park.
Sajulga works for the Northeast Tribal Health System, which conducts a weeklong summer program for youth that Kayla attended.
“We got to know her, we got to spend a day with her every day,” Sajulga said. “She was a blessing. She was a blessing; a leader. You always know that leader personality and that leader mentality. If there was somebody outcast, she would be the first one to be there so they didn’t have to stand alone.”
Kayla, 11 and a fifth grader at Miami’s Nichols Upper Elementary, was killed Tuesday, Oct. 15 in what Miami police are calling a murder-suicide.
Her mother, Melissa Wallace and James Miller, the fiancé of Melissa Wallace, remained hospitalized in Tulsa as of Friday night.
The apparent shooter, David Billings, who is Kayla’s father, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the MPD says.
An estimated 1,000 family, friends and those from the community attended the event, which included Kristi Bauer, also a member of the MPD chaplain corps.
“It’s heartbreaking; heart wrenching, but it’s a part of the healing process for the community because the whole community has been touched,” said Kristi Bauer, another member of the chaplain corps.
“At a time like this, its easy for the community to want to reach out and point the blame at somebody. But the blame is the loss,” she said. “Not the law enforcement agencies, not our local police authorities, but the law itself. Domestic violence is real. It’s devastating.”
Tuesday’s incident was the culmination of what reportedly had been an ongoing domestic issue.
“It may take a while — yes, it will — but Kayla’s life was not in vain,” Bauer said during a message at the vigil. “Her voice needs go to out into the highways and the byways. Up and down every street, into every community. Let her voice be heard. Let the multitudes of them who have experienced domestic violence and those who will know your pain.
“Let Kayla speak tonight for all those women and children who will be affected in the future.”
Bauer said she hopes that Melissa Wallace will join the fight on the local, state and national level to change laws regarding domestic violence.
A fundraiser for Kayla and her family will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 at Miami’s “Rocket Park.
Donations of money or gift cards will be accepted.
There will be cards available to those attending so they can write their own condolences and prayers to the family.
A number of items have been donated for a raffle, with proceeds going to the family.
“Lets step up as one community and not let this family fight this battle alone,” said event co-organizer Branden Blevins.
“I really just want the community to become even closer at these times when something like this happens. Just so families like this can still hold faith and be strong because there is a full community that is there supporting them.
“And the victims of times like this know they are not alone and to not give up,” he said.
~*~
*~*
Family Members
Parents
