Friends returned Sunday to where Shauna Haynes’ body was found just four days ago near trash cans in a downtown neighborhood. NBC 7’s Liz Bryant reports.
Signs along the street read 'justice for Shauna Haynes.'
Friends returned Sunday to where Shauna's body was found in a suitcase just four days ago.
They came to remember a life lost, but also to hold on to the memory of a vibrant 21-year-old with her future ahead of her.
As the smell of burning sage filled the downtown street, friend Gage Miller and a crowd of loved ones surrounded a picture of Shauna.
“I just saw her about three weeks ago and she seemed fine,” Miller told NBC 7. “Just like the happy, loving Shauna like everyone knew. A piece of me left with her also. I feel like I died.”
Shauna not only impacted friends from Grossmont High School, but also coworkers at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
“Every time I was sad she would come and hold me,” one coworker said through tears.
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“For something so tragic to happen to someone we love so much and someone who gave us that warm feeling of family, even if she wasn’t family," friend Jessica Huffman said.
As the sky dimmed the candles reminded them that Shauna’s light never did.
“I hope the suspect they found gets life. No mercy,” another friend said of 32-year-old Joshua Palmer who was arrested for Shauna’s murder Friday.
“We’re going to cleanse the space of any negative energy and we’re going to do a blessing for her to send her off with love and light,” human rights activist Bertha Gutierrez said.
Shauna’s friends set up a GoFundMe page for her funeral. Her family did not attend the memorial and asks for privacy.
