Posted: Mar 31, 2010 2:32 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 31, 2010 6:42 PM EDT
Students at Na'Jhae Parker's school have created a make-shift memorial around her locker.
By Sarah Batista - bio l email
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Friends and family are remembering a 13-year-old girl who was slain by her stepfather in a murder-suicide.
Na'Jhae Parker was an 8th grader at McClintock Middle School in Charlotte.
On Wednesday, students posted signs and posters on her school locker.
"She just made tons of friends and was extremely well-liked," said Pam Espinosa, principal of McClintock Middle School.
Police said Parker and her 1-year-old sister Nakyiah Chapman were murdered two weeks ago by Parker's stepfather, Kenneth Chapman.
Their bodies were left to decay in an apartment on Providence Square Drive in South Charlotte until they were discovered Monday evening.
The children's mother, 34-year-old Nateesha Chapman, was also murdered.
Espinosa said Parker never gave any indication there might be problems at home.
She said Parker's parents were so involved with the school, that the staff trusted Kenneth Chapman's word when a counselor called him twice about Parker's absence.
"He indicated that she had been having health issues and that she may be out for a little while," said Espinosa.
When police confronted Chapman late Monday night, police said he turned the gun on himself taking his own life.
CMS Superintendent Dr. Peter Gorman told WBTV he feels confident about how the school handled Parker's absence.
The district's policy is to conduct home visits if a parent can not be contacted about a child's absence.
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