Friends, family honor life of Briana Winston after gruesome killing, dumping in Tennessee
SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - Family and friends of Briana Winston gathered at a South Fulton park on Sunday for a candlelight vigil and balloon release in her honor.
Friends close to her and family members of Briana Winston are still trying to wrap their heads around the gruesome details of her killing.
"It was shocking. I’ve met Michale, he's been to my home, said Diana Moore, Winston's grandmother. "He was quiet. He seemed to be caring. He was very adoring of his daughter."
Clayton County Police have charged Michale Edwards, Briana’s boyfriend, with her murder.
Police say he killed her after the two argued about his own alleged infidelity.
Michale Edwards (Clayton County Sheriff's Office)
Then investigators say he stuffed her body into a suitcase, drove it to a friend’s house in Tennessee and burned her body there.
"I was enraged. I didn't understand. A lot of unanswered questions. Why? I feel like just him going to jail is just not enough for me," said Kendrick Langford, Winston’s uncle.
But Sunday’s gathering was about remembering Briana.
The group of about 60-70 people joined in prayer together before releasing dozens of balloons in her memory.
Then, many people took turns sharing memories of her.
"She was very hardworking, and she was very family oriented. She loved her family and her friends," said Winston’s cousin Jasmine Walker.
"She was very outgoing, bubbly, energetic, hardworking. She worked so much," said Winston’s close friend E’mani.
"She was very independent, and she had a vision of what she wanted her life to be. And she just kept pushing," Moore said.
Now the family says they’re going to take care of Briana’s four-year-old daughter, whom she had with Edwards.
They told FOX 5 they hope this is a warning to other families who have a loved one affected by domestic violence.
"We need to ask questions, to be persistent and find out ways to help people that are in a difficult situation," Moore said.