The official cause of death for nine-year-old Skyler Kauffman is that she was beaten multiple times and strangled. Even though a candlelight vigil was held in Souderton the night after her murder -- at the apartment complex where Skyler lived and died, people continued to stop and remember an innocent life taken.
“It’s mourning. It’s day by day, minute by minute,” said Ron Gallagher with a group called Bikers Against Child Abuse.
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People could not tear themselves away from her memorial on Wednesday night -- two days since police say Skyler was so brutally beaten, raped and killed in the basement of the apartment complex where she lived, where she screamed and struggled to fight off her attacker.
Skyler's body was found in a dumpster outside. A neighbor, James Troutman, 24, is charged with her murder.
“I don’t want people to forget. It’s never gonna be forgotten -- it’s never gonna be forgotten," Skyler's mother, Heather Gebhard, said Tuesday night when she returned to the complex where hundreds gathered to light candles and share in her grief.
According to court documents, last month Troutman made an inappropriate advance toward Skyler and her friend after they used the bathroom in his apartment one day. Gebhard called police, but the District Attorney has said the incident did not warrant charges.
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“It could have been prevented. My daughter would still be here,” Gebhard said.
“To let a child into your apartment when you’ve got obscene pictures posted all over the wall -- I think more of an investigation should have taken place a few weeks ago," said Gallagher.
No one answered the door at the home of the suspect’s parents and they had little to say Tuesday after his arraignment.
At Skyler's memorial, friends say goodbye.
“The community comes together and the community will never forget," said Gallagher.
Skyler's funeral is set for Monday, May 16. Donations for funeral arrangements can be made to the Citizens Bank on Route 113 in Souderton, Pa.
