Valerie Hamilton: Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil for Police Chief's Daughter
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBS/WBTV) Candlelight illuminated the square outside the Concord Police Department Monday night as more than 500 people showed up to remember the life of Valerie Hamilton, the daughter of a North Carolina Police Chief.
PICTURES: Valerie Hamilton Body Found
Many did not know 23-year-old Valerie Hamilton or her family, but the outpouring of support touched her father, Chief Merl Hamilton who was overcome with emotions as he addressed the crowd, reports CBS affiliate WBTV.
The song "Time after Time" played over the loud speakers. Chief Hamilton broke down as he talked about the special meaning of the song.
"That was our song," he said. "I look to my daughter in heaven time after time, baby. Time after time."
According to police, Hamilton was last seen early Wednesday morning after leaving a Charlotte bar with 34-year-old Michael Harvey. Harvey, a convicted sex offender, was arrested without incident by the FBI and U.S. Marshals Monday at a home in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Monday night Chief Hamilton wanted the memory of his daughter to be clear.
"This is a trying time," he said. "The case will go how the case goes. And whatever happens, whatever happens. But want I you to know what a wonderful beautiful girl my daughter was," reports WBTV.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Rodney Monroe spoke with the media on Monday about the early stages of the investigation into Hamilton's death.
Monroe said CMPD detectives were primarily focusing their investigation where Harvey lived, the mini-storage facility where the victim was found, and an Econo-Lodge where Harvey reportedly stayed after the victim was reported missing. The cause of death is unknown and police have not said what led them to the storage facility or who rented the unit where Hamilton's body was discovered.
Monroe said only a short amount of time lapsed between the time Hamilton disappeared and when she was found this weekend at the mini-storage facility and it was unclear if there was an actual abduction or if Hamilton voluntarily left the bar with Harvey.
"The body was wrapped when we recovered it," Monroe said, but he would not comment further.
The Chief said Hamilton's body and the materials she was wrapped in were turned over to the medical examiner's office.
Harvey's grandmother, Rose Harvey, told WBTV that she adopted him from his biological mother because she had substance abuse issues. According to Mecklenburg County court records, Harvey has been arrested in the Charlotte area numerous times.
He is being held in the Niagara County Jail.
