Local News

Painful Funeral Held For 9-Year-Old Murder Victim

Mya's Father: 'Take A Minute, Just To Look At Your Child'

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Heart-wrenching moments marked the funeral on Saturday for 9-year-old Mya Lyons, who was found brutally stabbed to death earlier this week in an Auburn-Gresham neighborhood alley.

As CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports, at the Monument of Faith Church, 2750 W. Columbus Ave., plaintive organ music provided the backdrop for powerful hymns, moving prayers, and inconsolable cries from a mother and father who have lost their child.

Mya was found stabbed to death early Tuesday morning in the 8400 block of South Gilbert Court. Some reports have said a "person of interest" was taken into custody, but so far, no one has been charged with the crime.

Her family and friends gathered Saturday to celebrate a young life that came to an appallingly violent end.

Mya's father, Richard Lyons, found his daughter dead in an alley behind the dead-end street off Vincennes Avenue, where he lived and she had been visiting. Mya had been stabbed to death.

Stuffed animals and tree stumps now line the once brush-covered area where her body was found. Since her death, the area has been cleared of shrubbery.

For her memorial service, the church was awash in pink flowers, and those who knew Mya wore various shades of pink – her favorite color. Her family spoke of the 9-year-old honor student, who loved singing and playing with her dolls, but at the same time, was wise beyond her years.

"By the time Mya was 8, her command of the English language was so pronounced that we would have her speak, just to listen to how well she articulated in conversation," said Mya's cousin, Karrisell Lyons.

Among the well-wishers were Mya's father's co-workers from Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where Richard Lyons works as a radiologist.

"Hopefully, love will find a way to make you whole," said family friend Robert Vogelzang. "We love you, Richard."

Richard's own father expressed thanksgiving and gratitude.

"I've been blessed just to have this many people to support me and to stand by me, to help me see through this," he said.

During the service, the minister told everyone Mya was sent by God to accomplish a mission. Meanwhile, Richard Lyons advised those who convened for the service to cherish the moments they have with their children.

"Please try to have some Mya minutes with your child," Richard Lyons said. "Take a minute, just to look at your child, because you just never know which day will be your last with them."

Among those sending condolences to Mya's family was presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. He sent a letter which was read to Mya's loved ones, expressing his sadness to the Lyons family.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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