Friends and Family Remember Slain Rosemont Teen

When Jessica Funk-Haslam was 5, she was a big fan of Chuck Norris.

At least that's what it says on a trading card from her brief stint in martial arts.

About 100 friends, family and community members held a vigil Wednesday near the site in where . Authorities are treating her death as a homicide, .

Jessica was remembered by her friends as a friendly girl with a quirky style. She was fond of knee-high socks and wore lots of pink, black and white to school at .

"She was a kid anybody could identify on campus," Principal Garrett Kirkland said. "She was her own person."

Kirkland said he spent time Wednesday reading through responses Jessica filled out during , the school's anti-bullying campaign in October.

"There's nothing in there except normal middle school stuff," he said.

Dozens of Einstein and students were at Wednesday's vigil–some staring silently at the flowers, candles and remembrances left for Jessica–and many sharing tearful hugs.

"She was nice, funny, always happy, always smiling," said Bethanee Hancock, a friend dressed in a homemade "RIP Jessica" shirt.

"She was always outgoing and never let anybody get to her," Bethanee said. "If anybody said something about her, she didn't really care."

Thelma Finch said her daughter, a seventh-grader at Einstein, was hit hard by the news.

"She's been sleeping on our bedroom floor," Finch said. "Her first thing was, 'I can't believe she's dead, I just talked to her yesterday.' "

Both of Jessica's parents and several extended family members were at Wednesday's vigil, as were at least a half-dozen reporters and television crews.

"She was a happy kid–one of those fun to be around a lot of the time," her mother, Tara Funk-Haslam said.

Tara Funk-Haslam said she and her daughter had their disagreements, but "she wasn't one that ran off all the time."

Students at Einstein are scheduled to wear pink, black and white on Friday, and will leave remembrances of Jessica in a time capsule, Kirkland said.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department officials will give an update on the case .