Tessa Majors, slain Barnard College student, celebrated at memorial in her hometown
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Relatives and friends of an 18-year-old Barnard College student who was killed more than a week ago came together in her hometown Saturday to honor and remember her life.
The ceremony for Tessa Majors, which took place at her high school in Charlottesville, Va., included musical performances and remarks by her friends, classmates and former teachers.
Majors' immediate family did not speak at the service.
Majors was fatally stabbed on Dec. 11 in Morningside Park, just off Columbia University's campus, which sits next to the private women's liberal arts college in Upper Manhattan in New York City.
In a letter her father, Inman Majors, wrote for the memorial program, he remembered all the things that Majors loved in life: her stuffed animal Baby Snuggle, walking to get milkshakes with her brother, discovering a new town and revealing the hidden local secrets of her own.
"She loved life and got her money's worth out of it," the letter read. "The family is heartbroken and will miss her so very much. But they feel her presence currently more than her absence and feel the love and support they've received from around the world."
In the wake of her death, her family said in a statement they were "devastated by the senseless loss of our beautiful and talented Tess."
"Tess shone bright in this world, and our hearts will never be the same," another family statement read.
Her killing has left the school community both devastated and shocked. Local politicians in New York have pushed for more surveillance in Morningside Park to improve safety.
Police are looking for a 14-year-old boy in connection with Majors' killing. NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison told ABC News he is "confident" the 14-year-old will be tracked down.
A 13-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with murder, though authorities do not believe he is the one to have stabbed Majors. A third boy, also 14 years old, was questioned and released.
ABC News' Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
