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Family, friends gather to remember slain Suffolk teen

Posted at 11:47 PM, Nov 19, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-19 23:47:16-05

Suffolk, Va. - Family and friends continue to grieve the loss of a Suffolk high school senior.

An emotional vigil was held on Tuesday night outside of King's Fork High School.

Tear stained cheeks were shown from the glow of candle light as the friends of Denishe-Ya King stood shoulder to shoulder, hoping for answers in a dark time.

“It's aggravating because you just don't know what goes through people's heads. And having her as a best friend, she would always talk to me and tell me we're going to get through this year, we're going to graduate, then you're going to graduate and then I'm going to graduate to go somewhere in life. And she just didn't have the chance to go somewhere in life,” says Layla Atkins, a friend.

Early Saturday morning, King's journey ended.

The King’s Fork senior was at a house party on Saint James Avenue.

A fight broke out, shots were fired and King was hit. She was just months from graduation. She was found dead on the ground by police.

“My whole world stopped,” says Dennis Matthews, King’s father. “Just feel like I'm in a dream. Like I'm going to wake up and it'll be over.”

Life without Denishe-Ya is her family's new reality. What brought these people together is their sense of loss.

“It’s a good thing, to let me know that my daughter was loved by a lot of people. She touched a lot of people,” says Matthews.

“I feel like she didn't have a chance. She has so many people that love her but she didn't have a chance,” says Atkins.

Related: 

Teen killed in Suffolk shooting was King’s Fork High student