Friends, Family and Strangers Honor Brenna Machus at Candlelight Vigil

More than 100 Wyandotte residents and members of surrounding communities turned out at Bishop Park Friday despite bad weather for a candlelight vigil honoring Brenna Machus. 

The 20-year-old Romulus woman was one of two people killed as part of robbery at the Family Dollar store in Dearborn where she worked. Police said she was kidnapped from the store by the assailant on the evening of July 15, and that they found her body Thursday morning in a wooded area near the Southfield Freeway (M-39) and Michigan Avenue in Dearborn. 

Her co-worker, Joseph Orlando, was shot and killed in the store.

"I don’t think that we’ll ever understand. I don't know how anybody could do this to anyone.” Kaylyn Lee, Machus’ cousin, told Channel 7 during the ceremony. Heavy rains forced the crowd under the canopy at the park and cut the evening short.

Before they left, more than 100 participants pulled pennies from a jar and tossed them into the river with a wish in Machus' memory, wxyz.com reported.