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After Appomattox Shooting Kills 8, Murdered Teens, Child, Parents Remembered in Virginia

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APPOMATTOX, Va. (CBS/AP) While Virginia police struggle to find a motive behind a mass killing that left eight dead, including three teens and a 4-year-old child, members of the rural Appomattox community where the bloodshed took place are determined to keep the victims' memories alive.

Photo: Emily Quarles, 15.

PICTURES: Virginia Family Massacre Victims

Police believe Christopher Bryan Speight, 39, shot four family members in a house he shared with them and four friends that were visiting, then led police on an 18-hour manhunt. Speight was apprehended Jan. 20 and is currently jailed on one count of murder. He is likely to face more.

Photo: Morgan Dobyns, 15.

PICTURES: Virginia Family Massacre Victims

The victims included Speight's 37-year-old sister Lauralee Sipe, her 38-year-old husband Dwayne Sipe, and their children, Morgan Dobyns, 15, and Joshua Sipe, 4.

Dwayne Sipe was a Navy veteran who served as a gunner on the USS Wisconsin in Operation Desert Storm.

Photo: Lauralee Sipe, 37, and husband Dwayne Sipe, 38.

PICTURES: Virginia Family Massacre Victims

Morgan Dobyns loved to cook and bake and had planned to take culinary art classes next year. Her geometry teacher, Betsy Wilbun Ranson, called her an "excellent, caring, loving, and positive individual who had a BRIGHT road" ahead in a Facebook memorial message.

Joshua Sipe never even got a chance at life.

Outside the home, police found three members of the Quarles family: Jonathan and wife Karen, both 43, their daughter Emily, 15 and her boyfriend Ronald "Bo" Scruggs.

Photo: Jonathan Quarles, daughter Emily, and wife Karen.

PICTURES: Virginia Family Massacre Victims

Friends say Jonathan Quarles was a gentle soul; the kind of man who rescued flying squirrels and turtles, then released them back to the wild. When a stranger's house burned down, he had gathered clothes and furniture for the family.

Karen Quarles worked for Central Health as a respiratory therapist for 11 years. Jon was a self-employed landscaper.

Photo: Ronald "Bo" Scruggs.

Ronald "Bo" Scruggs was a fun-spirited teen who often tangled with his mother over how long to wear his hair.

"He was just a normal, average boy. It's just a horrible, tragic thing. I'm still reeling," said Susanne Brent, who cut the boy's hair.

Photo: Morgan Dobyns, Emily Quarles, Ronald Scruggs.

PICTURES: Virginia Family Massacre Victims

Abigail Schroeder, a waitress at the Corner Grill, said the Quarles were regular customers because Emily's older sister Meghan Pritchard worked there about three years ago.

"When everybody told us, we're just like, 'No, it's not Jon and Karen. No way,'" she said. "Meghan's getting married in a few months… All this big, good stuff was about to come up, and then something like this happens to her family."

To handyman Tom Vorhees, Jonathan Quarles was like a brother; His wife teased him about their "bromance." He last saw Quarles on Saturday, as Vorhees was trying to lug heavy carpets into a Baine's mother's home. Quarles stopped his vehicle and helped.

Morgan Dobyns' funeral is set for Sunday. Her mother, brother and stepfather will be remembered in a separate service Monday.

The Quarles family service is Tuesday. A service for Ronald Scruggs is still being planned.

MEDIA
PICTURES: Virginia Family Massacre Victims

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
January 21, 2010 - Virginia Massacre Suspect Christopher Bryan Speight Wiped Out Family – 3 Teens, Toddler, Say Cops
January 20, 2010 - Christopher Bryan Speight Rigged House with Explosives Before Killing 8, Say Va. Police
January 20, 2010 - Christopher Speight, Suspected of Killing 8 in Virginia, Surrenders

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