Mourners Remember Teen Killed at House Party | News

LAS VEGAS - Standing side by side in darkness, mourners held candles high for their shining light - Betty Jean Pinkney. They asked for justice.

"Oh God, we pray that her death never be in vain," a preacher said.

They sang and shared their sorrow.

"She touched so many people, so many lives," Betty Jean's father Joe Pinkney said.

He says his daughter had a reputation for taking time before school to help others.

"Betty would come to the special people, to the special students that they had, and she would come in the morning and give them all a hug," he said. "That's the kind of person that she was."

Gunfire at a house party Jan. 15 ended her life. Two men started fighting, and bullets started flying. Betty Jean was caught in the crossfire.

"Whoever was at this party, they should know who did it, because they were there next to her," said Betty Jean's friend Dominique Hopkins. "They act like they don't know anything. If they know something, come forward and speak up about it."

Joe Pinkney echoed that message Monday night. "Come forward. This is your only chance to do something for Betty," he said.

Betty Jean's younger brother Matthew is left with memories.

"I used to play basketball with her. We've done a lot of things together. I can't do that anymore, because she's not here," he said.

As they look up to the sky, they count on Betty Jean's spirit to live on here. "Betty, she's always going to be in my heart," Matthew said.

Funeral services for Betty Jean Pinkney will take place Saturday at noon at Second Baptist Church.

Metro, meanwhile, continues to search for clues and take tips on this murder. Anyone who knows anything about the shooter is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.