Friends of murdered Kat Parton to hold memorial vigil in her memory

Friends of the late Kat Parton who was murdered in her East Belfast home are set to hold a memorial vigil in her memory on Friday. The vigil will take place at Island Hill, Comber from 8pm with attendees asked to bring sky lanterns which will be let off.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Kat's childhood friend Samantha Rutherford recalled how the pair had lost touch but recently reconnected.

"I ran about with Kat when I was about 17 or 18. She was a year younger than us but it was a mixed group and we all got on," she said.

Read more: Kat Parton: Three people charged in connection with East Belfast murder

"Some of us split as we grew up but then a few years ago my son had made friends with Bailey and asked me to drop him to his house which was Kathryn's mum and dad's house. Her boy and my boy are inseparable and I then got to know her as an adult."

Samantha said that Kat would have gone out of her way to help people and was always full of energy.

"She was a header in the most nicest of ways," she recalled. "She was always so bubbly and would have done anything for you. Her kindness shone through.

"She was always hyper and you would have swore she was powered by Duracell batteries but she was so, so funny."

Samantha said that they are asking people to bring sky lanterns which will be let off and that people are welcome to write messages on them.

"We want her to have a nice send-off. She was a good girl and didn't deserve what happened to her," she finished.

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