The funeral for Anitra Gunn, the 22-year-old slain Fort Valley State University student, approaches as loved ones and people across Georgia still grapple with her death.
The homecoming service is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Greater Peace Baptist Church in Opelika, Ala. Burial will follow in nearby Camp Hill at New Canaan Baptist Church Cemetery, where Gunn's mother was buried in 2014 after a car wreck.
Gunn, who graduated from Fulton County's Westlake High, is survived by her father, a brother and a sister, as well as scores of other loved ones, her obituary said.
Among those to express sympathy for the family on the comment section attached to the obituary was Fort Valley Mayor Barbara Williams. The mayor remembers Gunn serving her at the downtown restaurant where Gunn worked before her killing on Feb. 14.
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“Please accept my most heartfelt sympathies for your loss,” the mayor wrote. “I pray the peace of God surrounds you all during this journey of healing.”
Gunn's boyfriend, DeMarcus Little, a 23-year-old U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Gordon, has been charged with malice murder in her death. The warrant alleges he strangled her. Her body was found in some woods four days after she died.
Authorities haven’t released a possible motive.
Javion Abron, 22, of Valdosta is charged with making false statements to an investigator and helping conceal Gunn's death. Abron went to high school with Little and was also a friend of Gunn's, according to the GBI.
Gunn's father, Christopher Gunn, who has asked for prayers and privacy as his family mourns his daughter, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to accept donations toward funeral and burial expenses.
“The ray of sunshine and the apple of our eye gained her heavenly wings,” the site reads. “Although we have so many unanswered questions, we are trusting in God thru it all. We are so THANKFUL for the outpouring of love, support and prayers from all over the country.”
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