METRO VANCOUVER – Delta police dispatched officers to North Delta schools Tuesday as students returned to class for the first time since the murder Saturday of 15-year-old Laura Szendrei.
"Delta police have deployed officers to North Delta schools to be visible in the area and to be accessible to interact with parents and students," police said Tuesday in a statement.
There were no new developments overnight into the investigation into Szendrei’s murder, police said.
Investigators were still not saying whether they believe the attack against Szendrei was targeted or random.
Police scaled back their perimeter around Mackie Park, where Szendrei was attacked, but remained in the area Tuesday to continue canvassing neighbours and searching for evidence.
The department’s emergency command vehicle will remain in the Mackie Park parking lot for several more days.
On Monday, concerned parents and grieving students flocked to a Delta high school to try to come to terms with the weekend murder .
Although no classes were held at Burnsview secondary on Monday because of a professional development day, the doors were open for an information meeting to discuss the tragic beating of Szendrei. who was a student there.
Parent Ray Yuen, whose 15-year-old daughter played soccer with Szendrei, said he is worried about his daughter’s safety but encouraged neighbourhood teenagers not to be defeated by the gruesome case.
“All you can do is teach them the right things. Stay strong and believe in your friends and keep each other safe,” he said in a calm voice following the meeting.
“The police are doing their job and we’ll get through this.”
Several Delta police officers and Delta Mayor Lois Jackson also attended the meeting, which was closed to the media.
Inside the front foyer of Burnsview was a large memorial dedicated to Szendrei with photos and cards covering a table and a wall. Signs referred to the victim as “our Snooki” and “Castle Kid.”
There were three other memorials in the forested area near Mackie Park where the girl was found face-down by two friends around 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Beside a bouquet of red and white carnations, a poster signed by three girls was placed at one memorial in the park.
“Laura I can’t believe your gone,” Kaila Sandhu wrote. “My heart is broken. I don’t understand how anyone could do this to an amazing and beautiful girl like you.”
Added Megan Leckie: “Laura, you were such an amazing person. You always had a smile on your face. You were so full of joy and life. You had so much to give.”
A dozen boys and girls left flowers at one of the memorials in the forested area Monday afternoon, consoling each other with hugs as they cried.
Khan Mercer, 17, who knew Szendrei through friends, said he was so shocked when he heard the news of her death that he dropped the phone.
“She was amazing. She was always happy with a big smile on her face,” Khan said while walking by Mackie Park.
Szendrei, a French immersion student, died in hospital Sunday, just hours after the attack, with her family by her side.
Delta police Sgt. Sharlene Brooks said police still will not comment on what type of weapon – if any – was involved or a possible motive for the attack.
“We aren’t in a position to confirm one way or the other at this point. We are certainly aware of the level of concern in our community and we are asking everyone to employ safety measures,” she said.
“We are definitely aggressively pursuing this investigation.”
Delta police held a community meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the North Delta Recreation Centre to address residents’ concerns about the slaying.
“The impact of this tragedy has touched the entire community and this meeting will serve as an opportunity for citizens to have concerns heard and questions addressed,” police said in a Mondary-afternoon news release announcing the meeting.
Police are still looking for a young man seen leaving Mackie Park about 1:15 p.m. Saturday, saying he may have seen or heard something that could help officers. Police believe he is 16 to 25 years old, with a medium build, and was wearing a white short-sleeve shirt, cargo shorts and a backpack, and may have been talking on a cellphone or texting while heading east on 81A Avenue.
Brooks said police have received other tips but would not elaborate. She also would not reveal what officers have found so far during the search of the park.
Brooks said there is no evidence yet to suggest Szendrei’s attack is related to two other incidents in the spring, in which the victims appeared to have been struck with blunt objects, or two Mace attacks on Sept. 17, also in Delta.
“But I’m not ruling anything out, not dismissing any possibilities here,” she added.
Some of Szendrei’s friends have said she was a victim in one of the Macing incidents, but Brooks said police were not in a position to confirm that “rumour.”
“We are aggressively investigating the [Mace] attacks in an effort to identify [the people involved],” Brooks said. “We had two reports in two separate locations. What is speculative was that it had anything to do with Laura at all.”
Jackson, Delta’s mayor, said she understands parents have a “major concern” about their children’s safety. She encouraged young people to be cautious but not let fear rule their lives.
“We need to teach kids how to protect themselves in the real world,” Jackson said.
“We cannot let this kind of behaviour rule our society.”
Meanwhile, two Facebook pages commemorating Szendrei’s life have received an outpouring of emotional responses with a total of 4,000 members joining the two sites by late Monday afternoon.
And while most of the reaction has been respectful, some posted messages underscore the problems that can arise with online memorials.
For the better part of Sunday night and Monday morning, the two Facebook pages were bombarded with insensitive comments and photos from a handful of seemingly random Facebook members, a practice known as “trolling” in the online world.
The malicious contributions led to written jousting between Szendrei’s mourners and the insensitive posters.
By 10 a.m. Monday, photos deemed defamatory had been taken down by one of the page’s creators, Tyler Merko, a North Delta senior secondary student. Merko then closed the page, barring anyone from joining without his permission.
Richard Rosenberg, a professor emeritus at the University of B.C who specializes in online ethics and the social impact of computers, said memorial pages are a legitimate way to express grief, but also allow some to post thoughts they wouldn’t say in person.
“[They] feel less regret on the Internet … because there’s no consequence to what you’re doing,” Rosenberg said, noting that, while distasteful, insensitive comments and photos fall under the exercise of free speech.
Police have warned the public not to speculate about the murder on the basis of misleading online information. Brooks was hesitant about giving the inappropriate postings any publicity, but added: “The Delta police are aware and monitoring it.”
With files from Graeme Wood and research by PNG librarian Sandra Boutilier
With files from Graeme Wood and research by PNG librarian Sandra Boutilier
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Related: Facebook group for Laura Szendrei
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