Community says goodbye to baby Shaylyn
SPENCER, Ind. (WISH) – Family, friends, law enforcement and complete strangers took time Wednesday to say goodbye to a 1-year-old girl whose life tragically ended last week.
It’s been one week since Shaylyn Ammerman went missing from her father’s home in Spencer, only to be found dead in a rural area the next day.
Wednesday night, the public was invited to attend her visitation and funeral at Christian Life Center.
“It’s just devastating, it’s heart breaking that someone could do that,” said Deana Scott as she walked out of the visitation.
The goodbyes to Shaylyn Ammerman started in the form of teddy bears and angels, a memorial to the little girl who police say was abducted, raped, and killed by a family friend. But Wednesday was a chance to share those goodbyes in person.
“It hurts, really bad because I got to hold her when she was a baby and when I see her up there, it hurts,” said Sherri Walker, a cousin in-law to Shaylyn’s family. Other relatives were seen outside the church, but many of those who attended the visitation and funeral had no relation.
Some were strangers, parents themselves who felt compelled to pay their respects.
“Because it could have been anybody’s baby. You know when they’re running around like that it could be anybody’s baby,” said Scott who noted she had never met the family before.
That feeling was shared by many of the men and women behind the badge who worked the case this past week. Several troopers, officers, and deputies helped control traffic and security for the services, but they were also given a private visitation.
“Although we have to keep our professionalism and do things according to policy and procedure, we’re still human,” said Indiana State Police Sgt. Curt Durnil. “We’re still fathers and mothers and you know we just hope we never understand what they’re going through now.”
Although he was thankful for the chance to grieve, Sgt. Durnil knows there’s more work to be done. He said investigators still need to collect more evidence and interview more persons of interest.
“When I say persons of interest, it’s a huge span on everybody from who was in the house that night to who saw somebody that was in the house that night, who spoke to somebody that was in the house that night,” he said.
Most will never know the pain Shaylyn’s family is feeling. But Wednesday, they could at least extend their sympathy.
“She’s beautiful,” Scott said of Shaylyn.
Shaylyn will be buried Thursday at Chambersville Cemetery a few miles east of Spencer.
Unlike the visitation and funeral, that ceremony will be private.