Jayde KendallPrint Page

The monument commemorates Jayde Kendall who was murdered in August 2015.

Family and friends of Gatton schoolgirl Jayde Kendall, who was allegedly murdered in the Lockyer Valley, have unveiled a memorial, and announced an "awareness walk" in her honour. A lone piper played as family, friends, and work colleagues, gathered to unveil a stone memorial dedicated to Jayde Kendall in a Gatton park.

Grandfather Denis Morrissey said the memorial was erected to remember Jayde and to support an important message in her memory. "It will be an area where the family and community can come and reflect on a young life lost in our community," he said. "But it will also send a message for the young and the elderly to be aware of where you are, what you're doing, and the circumstances you can place yourself in," he told the gathered crowd.

Jayde Kendall went missing on August 14, 2015. A massive search operation found her body a fortnight later on farmland, about 16 kilometres from Jayde's Gatton home. Brenden Bennetts, 18, has been charged with Jayde's murder.

Jayde's grandfather thanked former mayor of the Lockyer Valley, Steve Jones — who passed away in February — for the support council gave to the family in the months following Jayde's death. "When I mentioned the community would need closure, he committed to having a community memorial," he said.

Mr Morrissey said the family hoped the memorial, and the upcoming Jayde Kendall Day of Awareness Walk, would send a message "to educate the community that violence against women, girls, men and boys, in any form, has to stop to ensure a safe future". "Jayde was a very loving member of our community," he said. "The memorial is there to remind the community what did occur, but a reminder that we can all pull together."
ABC Southern Queensland ( Peter Gunders), 5 April 2016.

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