ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — On Tuesday, family and friends gathered to remember to Devin Clark, one of the teenagers found murdered in Orange County last week.
What You Need To Know
Funeral services for Devin Clark were held Tuesday in Alamance County
The 18-year-old is one of the high school students who was found murdered on September 18
Lyric Woods, 14, is the other student who was found murdered and her services were held over the weekend
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office says a 17-year-old is considered a suspect but has not shared more information
Tuesday’s services were held at Beyond Measure Ministries in Haw River. Cars filled up the parking lot and flowed over into other nearby lots, as people arrived to pay their respects, as well as remember and celebrate Clark’s life.
Clark was a senior at Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane. Clark loved sports, especially football, and riding four wheelers.
Alisa Clark, one of Clark’s great aunts, said Tuesday was a very emotional day.
“I’m hurt. The family is hurt. Everybody is hurting, even the classmates,” Clark said. “His granddad is my brother Dexter, and yes, they’ve been hurting since the beginning. But you know what? God is in control, and God really took over the service today. It was a beautiful service. My family sang. My brother Dexter, he spoke about his grandson.”
“He was a very sweet, loving young man. Beautiful smile,” Alisa Clark said. “He loved his family. He loved the football team. He just loved everybody. He was a people person.”
When asked about her favorite memories, Clark said, “His smile. He loved to smile and everybody loved to see him smile. That’s what he loved to do. He’s going to be very missed. We’re going to miss him very much.”
Mallory Thornton is a community activist who attended Tuesday’s funeral, and she says this tragedy is really impacting kids in the community, which is why she’s tried to spread the word about vigils and community services to help unify people as they mourn.
“My child is friends with one of the children. Watching her hurt the way she hurt, I don’t know how to comfort her. That’s why I do these things in the community so we can all learn how to comfort these children,” Thornton said.
Thornton and other people who attended Tuesday’s services say they are still looking for answers about why Devin Clark and Lyric Woods were killed.
On Monday, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said that information about the 17-year-old suspect will be protected right now because juveniles are not automatically charged as adults in North Carolina. However, that could change if felony charges are brought against the suspect.