Community members gather to remember victims of Elkhart double homicide

ELKHART, Ind. --- Remembering the life of one of the victims in a double homicide in Elkhart County.

Twenty-two-year-old Hayley Smith was finishing up her shift at the Papa Johns on Cassopolis Street — with her fiancé Dustin Carr — when they were shot to death by a former employee.

“I loved Hayley so much. So much. She was my baby, my baby for real. My best friend, soulmate, wife, everything," said a friend of Hayley.

With balloons and photos causing hugs and tears in honor of Hayley - they began to find the silver lining of her death.

“I want to take something that’s broken and make it something beautiful. Something good needs to come out of this," said a friend of Hayley.

Watching the sun reflect on the river, they remembered her and the qualities that made her who she was.

“She loved all of you. All of you. She was the sweetest person I ever met in my life," said a friend of Hayley.

And they prayed as they released balloons to say hello to their friend who might no longer be here but will live on in each of them — for the rest of their lives.

“Don’t let him take the power and the control of everything that she was and destroy it because she was beautiful, and she was important," said a friend of Hayley.

There will be a pre-trial on March 17th for Jose Benitez-Tilley who is currently facing multiple charges for Hayley’s death.