Hundreds gather at candlelight vigil for KSU student who was killed by her ex-boyfriend on campus

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Hundreds of people gathered on Wednesday night for a vigil to pay tribute to a Kennesaw State University student who was killed over the weekend.

Alasia Franklin was killed on campus Saturday by Samuel Harris, who the family said is Franklin’s ex-boyfriend.

Franklin spent four years at KSU and in that time, everyone in a crowd of nearly 200 people will tell you she touched their lives.

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“My favorite thing about Lay Lay is her laugh. I hate that a lot of people will never get to experience that. Lay Lay laughed with all of the teeth in her mouth,” said Thalia Sims.

From her roommate to her friends, her classmates, the other members of the Student Government Association, and Home Depot where she worked, people came out to Swift Cantrell Park to remember the bright young life cut short over the weekend.

“The fact that she was taken away from us so harshly, it’s not fair,” said one friend.

In the crowd was Franklin’s family who drove hours from Cairo, Georgia to be there.

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“By all means, if I had to drive ten hours I was coming and to see the turnout. That means she wasn’t just up here goofing off she was actually being productive,” said Franklin’s mother Alinda Fortner. 

Friends shared memories and released balloons.

And after, dozens lined up to tell her mother the impact her daughter left on them.

“This is what’s keeping me together because I see the joy,” said Fortner.

Dressed in purple, Franklin’s favorite color, there was a call to make sure her legacy lived on, with the hope that her story will be a warning and help others.

As they wait for justice, they will celebrate the woman whose bright light was stolen from them.

“I can rest assured that she lived right,” added Fortner.

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