Community mourns loss of murdered teenager
Allanah Sciberras and Maeve Bannister |
Alleged murder victim Pheobe Bishop has been remembered by her loved ones as fiercely protective and gentle to those hurting as the community gathered at a candlelight vigil.
The 17-year-old went missing on May 15, sparking a major police search and investigation.
Officers discovered what were believed to be the teenager’s remains about 2.30pm on Friday near Goodnight Scrub National Park, some 280km northeast of Brisbane and 9km from an earlier search site.
Pheobe’s housemates, James Wood, 34, and Tanika Bromley, 33, faced Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Friday, three weeks to the day after she missed a flight and vanished.
Prosecutors allege the pair moved Pheobe’s body multiple times.
Her local community of Gin Gin has thrown its arms around Pheobe’s family, with floral tributes laid outside the property she shared with Wood and Bromley.
A candlelight vigil was held at Kolan Community Park on Sunday and a second will be held at Buss Park in nearby Bundaberg on Monday from 5pm.
Phoebe’s mother Kylie Johnson spoke at the vigil on Sunday night and said her daughter lived life to the fullest.
“Pheobe always sung her own tune,” she said.
“She loved the people that she loved to every extent of the earth.”
Hundreds of locals attended the vigil alongside SES crew and police officers.
Attendees were encouraged to wear bright colours and butterflies, two things Phoebe loved.
The community had been devastated by the loss of Pheobe, Bundaberg Mayor Helen Blackburn said.
“Let’s make caring for one another the way we live, not just the way we grieve,” she said.
“The loss of Pheobe has reminded us how important it is to love fully, to love freely and to be present. Let that be her legacy.”
Well-wishers have also left tributes on social media sites advertising the events.
“May the love and light of the community surround Pheobe’s family and friends during this difficult time, and may her spirit fly free R.I.P. sweet angel,” one read on Saturday.
Pheobe was last seen near Bundaberg airport about 8.30am on May 15 after booking a trip to Western Australia to see her boyfriend.
Police allege Wood and Bromley drove Pheobe close to the airport but no one got out of the car.
Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield revealed on Saturday the remains found at Goodnight Scrub were not buried but declined to offer specifics.
“They were found in bushland … coupled with snippets of information and telecommunications data; that’s allowed us to find this location,” he said.
“It’s an unforgiving terrain.”
Insp Mansfield confirmed the missing luggage had not been located.
He said forensic searches of a home in Gin Gin had not identified anything significant.
During the search for the missing teen, the community also rallied around her family with a Leave the Lights On for Pheobe campaign.
Some posted photos online of their front lights switched on “to guide Pheobe home”.
Wood and Bromley have been remanded in custody ahead of their next court appearance on August 11.
AAP
