Family and friends gathered Monday to mourn the 18-year-old woman who was found strangled near a footbridge on Long Island last week.
Slain teenager Lauren Daverin was found killed near the bridge over Merrick Road in Rockville Centre Thursday, according to police. She had spent the evening there with friends, and her naked body was discovered in a pool of blood later that night.
Mourners turned out to the Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Homes in Hicksville to remember the teen. Daverin's friend Christina Mansueto of Oceanside said the two were constant companions.
"Everybody loved her," she said.
Police have arrested 18-year-old Maxwell Sherman of Long Beach in Daverin's murder.
"It's crazy," said Joe Polansky of Cedarhurst, a visitor at Daverin's wake. "It's not something that usually happens in Rockville Centre."
It's not clear if Daverin and Sherman knew each other before the night of the murder. A motive is also still being investigated.
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"The truth always comes out," said Debbie Navarra of Lynbrook. "They got him. Justice will be taken care of."
A funeral service will be held Tuesday. The burial is on Wednesday in Hicksville.
