Abiola Ramnarine remembered the moment her 9-year-old daughter emerged from the house before a family trip to BJ’s. “She was wearing a biker jacket, skinny jeans, leather boots, and a scarf. I said, ‘Where are you going like that?’ Rebecca looked at me and said, “Where are you going? You need to change.”

Rebecca was bubbly and vivacious, bright and witty. “I could always count on her honest opinion,” laughed Abiola. Rebecca was also a dancer and singer, happiest when performing. He father said, “We always had to be on time for dance practice. Then she’d get home and practice more. She was a hard worker.”

Rebecca was especially close to her younger sister, Mariah. “They were opposites but best friends,” Abiola said.” When you saw one you saw the other.”

Rebecca loved children and wanted to be pediatrician. “But she told her grandmother that she would make a special exception and take care of her, too,” Abiola said.