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Farewell for Emma on Monday - New Zealand news on Stuff.co.nz
Hundreds of family and friends of murdered Christchurch woman Emma Agnew will farewell her at a funeral service on Monday.
Police said yesterday that a post-mortem revealed Agnew, 20, who was deaf, had been suffocated.
Her body was found covered by vegetation in Spencer Park, on the northern outskirts of Christchurch, on Monday night, 11 days after she went missing.
Liam James Reid, 35, unemployed, who has changed his name from Julian Heath Edgecombe, appeared in the Christchurch District Court this week charged with her murder.
Agnew's funeral will be held in the Aurora performing arts centre at Burnside High School at 2.30pm on Monday.
The service will have visual tributes to Agnew, who worked with the Deaf Sports Federation and the Deaf Society of Canterbury.
Members of her extended family have discussed releasing butterflies at the funeral to pay their respects.
Most butterfly species are deaf and they symbolise freedom and independence for the deaf community.
Agnew's parents, Louise and Henry Agnew, are also deaf, as are her three brothers.
Deaf Association general manager Tony Blackett said the Agnew family had requested no television cameras inside the centre during the funeral because it did "not want to be reliving the service on the television".
Friends of Agnew have told The Press that she had been relishing a new phase of life, having moved into a Linwood house she shared with a deaf flatmate.
She enjoyed going to nightclubs, dancing to the beat, and visiting friends. Her sign name, or nickname in the deaf community, was Smile.
The son of a woman murdered last year has urged Agnew's family to stay together to try to deal with her death.
Kevin McNeil, whose mother, Lois Dear, was murdered in July 2006, said Agnew's killer should not be allowed to destroy her family's lives as well.
"You need to be strong and get a really good family bond together," said McNeil, 43, a truck driver, from Coromandel.
"Don't let what has happened break your family apart. You need to have huge strength. Don't let it control your life as well."
Dear was beaten to death by an intruder at the school she worked at in Tokoroa.
"If they need help there are plenty of other victims who would be grateful to offer advice and help," said McNeil, who lives in Coromandel with his partner, Lizzie, 30, and two children.
"I would love to meet with them and help them if that's what they wanted. I can't think of them enough," he said.
Meanwhile, Agnew's friend Andy Savage said he had been amazed by the support shown from across New Zealand.
"I find it pretty amazing ... even complete strangers are offering support and donating money to the family."
Savage said it remained a very difficult time for those who knew Emma. "All the support in the world doesn't change what happened."
The Solicitor-General's office yesterday said it was investigating whether several websites and a radio station were in contempt of court over comments about Reid.
A spokeswoman said comments on the Trade Me forum, the TV3 and Radio Live websites, and a broadcast from Radio Live host Michael Laws were being looked at.
She said people should be careful what they published about Reid.
Hundreds of family and friends of murdered Christchurch woman Emma Agnew will farewell her at a funeral service on Monday.
Police said yesterday that a post-mortem revealed Agnew, 20, who was deaf, had been suffocated.
Her body was found covered by vegetation in Spencer Park, on the northern outskirts of Christchurch, on Monday night, 11 days after she went missing.
Liam James Reid, 35, unemployed, who has changed his name from Julian Heath Edgecombe, appeared in the Christchurch District Court this week charged with her murder.
Agnew's funeral will be held in the Aurora performing arts centre at Burnside High School at 2.30pm on Monday.
The service will have visual tributes to Agnew, who worked with the Deaf Sports Federation and the Deaf Society of Canterbury.
Members of her extended family have discussed releasing butterflies at the funeral to pay their respects.
Most butterfly species are deaf and they symbolise freedom and independence for the deaf community.
Agnew's parents, Louise and Henry Agnew, are also deaf, as are her three brothers.
Deaf Association general manager Tony Blackett said the Agnew family had requested no television cameras inside the centre during the funeral because it did "not want to be reliving the service on the television".
Friends of Agnew have told The Press that she had been relishing a new phase of life, having moved into a Linwood house she shared with a deaf flatmate.
She enjoyed going to nightclubs, dancing to the beat, and visiting friends. Her sign name, or nickname in the deaf community, was Smile.
The son of a woman murdered last year has urged Agnew's family to stay together to try to deal with her death.
Kevin McNeil, whose mother, Lois Dear, was murdered in July 2006, said Agnew's killer should not be allowed to destroy her family's lives as well.
"You need to be strong and get a really good family bond together," said McNeil, 43, a truck driver, from Coromandel.
"Don't let what has happened break your family apart. You need to have huge strength. Don't let it control your life as well."
Dear was beaten to death by an intruder at the school she worked at in Tokoroa.
"If they need help there are plenty of other victims who would be grateful to offer advice and help," said McNeil, who lives in Coromandel with his partner, Lizzie, 30, and two children.
"I would love to meet with them and help them if that's what they wanted. I can't think of them enough," he said.
Meanwhile, Agnew's friend Andy Savage said he had been amazed by the support shown from across New Zealand.
"I find it pretty amazing ... even complete strangers are offering support and donating money to the family."
Savage said it remained a very difficult time for those who knew Emma. "All the support in the world doesn't change what happened."
The Solicitor-General's office yesterday said it was investigating whether several websites and a radio station were in contempt of court over comments about Reid.
A spokeswoman said comments on the Trade Me forum, the TV3 and Radio Live websites, and a broadcast from Radio Live host Michael Laws were being looked at.
She said people should be careful what they published about Reid.
