Family, Friends Remember 16-Year-Old Maren Sanchez At Wake In Milford, Conn.
MILFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) - An overflow crowd came out Thursday to remember 16-year-old Maren Sanchez, who was stabbed to death in her school just hours before she was to attend the junior prom.
As CBS 2's Lou Young reported, it appeared like the whole town turn out to say goodbye.
The stately funeral home on North Broad Street was already full of close friends and family as they began to let the public file in for the wake Thursday afternoon.
Viewing hours for the murdered 16-year-old began at 2 p.m. Mourners wore black and purple, her favorite color, to say their final respects.
Family and friends said the pain is still fresh six days after the fatal attack.
"It's getting worse and worse I think, at least from my point of view," family friend Ishmail Tarkhan told Young. "We can't make sense of it."
Sanchez was fatally stabbed in the stairwell of Jonathan Law High School in Milford last Friday.
Classmate Christopher Plaskon is charged as an adult in the attack. Fellow students believe Sanchez turned down his invitation to the prom, Young reported.
"Teachers are doing a lot to make it easier on us but it's just a little difficult still because it's still kind of fresh," freshman Ally Maccio said.
For the Sanchez family, the seemingly endless line of mourners is seen as both a comfort and an additional burden since their private sorrow has been turned into a community event, Young reported.
"It's a little intrusive obviously, no one wants all these people. But the love and support is unparalleled," family friend David Kristy told Young.
The casket is open. Maren Sanchez has the hair and make-up she would've worn to the prom.
She will be buried in a private ceremony on Friday, the same day her alleged killer is to be officially arraigned.
Plaskon is being held on $3 million dollars bail. He has been undergoing psychiatric evaluation since the killing last Friday.
Gov. Dannel Malloy was among 1,500 who paid tribute to Sanchez at a vigil at the school on Monday evening. A memorial fund has also been set up in Sanchez's name.
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