Mourners invited to 'child friendly' memorial for 6-year-old girl killed allegedly by neighbor
Faye Swetlik was abducted and killed by asphyxiation, officials said.
The grieving community of Cayce, S.C., will gather on Friday evening to remember Faye Swetlik, a 6-year-old who was abducted and killed, allegedly by a 30-year-old neighbor.
Her family has requested a "child friendly event" at Trinity Baptist Church, encouraging mourners to wear pink and purple in honor of the first-grader.
Journals will also be left at the church for neighbors to leave a note or drawing for Faye or her family.
Swetlik disappeared on Feb. 10 while playing outside her home, launching a frantic search throughout her neighborhood.
During the massive search, neighbor Coty Taylor, who is now Swetlik's suspected killer, was interviewed by authorities and allowed them to search his home on Feb. 12, Cayce Department of Public Safety Director Byron Snellgrove said this week.
"Those agents did not see anything that alerted them to believe that he had knowledge or was at any way involved in Faye’s disappearance," Snellgrove said.
The first grader was found dead in a wooded area on Feb. 13.
Just moments after Swetlik's body was found, Taylor was found dead by suicide in his home, authorities said.
Snellgrove said on Tuesday that evidence leads authorities to believe Taylor abducted and killed Swetlik.
Authorities believe the 6-year-old’s body was moved to the wooded area in the early hours of Feb. 13, Snellgrove said.
Authorities zeroed in on Taylor hours later that day. They were combing through trash cans in the neighborhood when they found found a child’s polka-dot boot and a soup ladle with freshly dug dirt inside, said Snellgrove.