Memorial services for teens murdered in Roswell

ROSWELL, Ga. - Family and friends gathered Friday morning for a memorial service for Natalie Henderson, one of the two teens found murdered in Roswell Monday morning. The funeral for the other victim, Carter Davis, took place on Thursday. 

Henderson, of Roswell, and Davis, of Woodstock, both 17, were found dead behind the Publix on Woodstock Road. They were both shot in the head.

Henderson's funeral service was held at Roswell Presbyterian Church, off of Mimosa Boulevard Friday morning. The family is asking in lieu of flowers donations be sent to Companion Animal Connection.

“Natalie had a loving heart and an infectious zest for life. Unusual for one so young, she had the courage to always be, unapologetically, herself. Natalie will forever be loved and missed by all whose lives she touched,” her obituary reads.

Ahead of Henderson's memorial service, a couple hundred people gathered Thursday night at Roswell Square Park to honor her life with a candle light prayer vigil.

“We're just trying to show to the family that the community can get together and just really show how much we love,” said friend Avery Booth.

A large gathering at the vigil had come from the Roswell High School Marching Band and Color Guard, where she rose to be a leader in the color guard.

“She loved our school, she loved showing her spirit. She was so proud to be on the color guard and so proud to be at football games,” said Henderson's friend Suhad Hussain.

Loved ones said the rising senior had a strong push to make a difference in life.

"This is the rescue group she worked for with us,” said Connor Bolinger who showed FOX 5 News a t-shirt of the nonprofit, Companion Animal Connection, where Natalie volunteered.

Friends said Henderson had a generous quality which ran deep and came from a loving family. Organizers said her parents and her younger sister were present but were shielded from cameras and the press.

“There are so many people here to be with them and cry with them and they'll make it through at the end of the day,” said Bolinger.

At the vigil, friends didn't want to discuss the investigation or the 20-year-old double murder suspect, Jeffrey Hazelwood. Instead they focused on remembering a loving young woman gone too soon.

“We lost a friend and that doesn't happen to young kids and it's happening more and more so you just have to be careful and stick out for each other and just care for one another,” said Avery Booth.

Earlier in the day, Thursday, a huge crowd of several hundred people gathered in Dunwoody for Davis' funeral at St. Martins in the Fields Episcopal Church, which is where his mother works as an eighth grade teacher.

Davis, who was a senior at River Ridge High School, is being remembered as a beloved lacrosse player. Some of his friends were seen wearing jerseys at his funeral.

His parents, Michele and Jeremy Davis, released a statement through the school's headmaster.

“Carter Davis was the most loving, passionate, full of life young man,” Rev. Dr. James Hamner said. “Although his life was cut short, everyone in his life will remember how he loved the Lord, loved everyone, and told them often. He lived life to the fullest.”

See related: Police arrest suspect in murders of two teens in Roswell