Neighbors gather to share memories of family members killed in Hopkins and Burnsville

People gathered at Downtown Park in Hopkins, Minnesota, on Monday night to mourn the deaths of 7-year-old Evie Brown, Kristen Brown and Alice Brown. 

"She was too good for this world. The sweetest and dearest human," said a close friend of Kristen Brown. "And I know Evie was the absolute light of her life, and we can't believe that they are gone." 

Police say Kristen Brown's husband, Nathan Brown, is suspected of killing her and Evie Brown in their at-home daycare while several children were inside on Wednesday before taking his own life. The Burnsville Police Department says officers were called to a home earlier in the day, where they found Alice Brown, 78, dead from an apparent stabbing. Investigators say Nathan Brown was a close relative and had been living with her.  

Hopkins City Council member Heidi Garrido remembers Evie as one of her daughters' best friends.

"[Evie] was very happy, very smiley, very spunky," she said. "Grieving for a tiny life that ended at 7; that is horrifying." 

Garrido recounted the moment she told her daughter Evie Brown had died. 

"I took a solid couple of minutes with her on my lap, not even knowing how to say the words to her," she said. "I never ever want to be in that position again. I mean, she's 7 years old and it broke her in that moment." 

The community rallied together in song, lighting candles and sharing memories of the three.

Families praised Kristen Brown as a caregiver and educator. For years, she ran the daycare out of her home.

Terri Bleu, a friend of Alice Brown, said she was a kind and loving person, spent many days volunteering and loved gardening. 

"She was just such a beautiful soul," said Bleu. "She was such an amazing person and so many people loved her."

Garrido hopes this moment to stop, gather and remember can be a first step toward healing.

"We're strong, and we're getting through it, and we have such a wildly wonderful community in Hopkins and we're getting each other through it," Garrido said.