- A vigil is planned Thursday for 5-year-old Melissa Mogle.
- "Missy" died on May 19 after Tallahssee police found her unresponsive and covered in bruises.
- Watch now to hear Missy's godmother describe who Missy was before her tragic death.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The tragic death of 5-year-old Melissa Mogle came as a shock to many of her loved ones last week.
This week the focus is shifting from the alleged child abuse she endured to remembering the little girl for her bubbly personality.
"I would love to see people with smiles on their faces and remembering her. It's about her, and only her."
I'm Alberto Camargo in the Southeast Tallahassee neighborhood.
I'm learning how this community plans to honor Missy's life and how the charges against her parents have evolved in recent days.
"There are days that I'll see pictures of her and I'll just start crying. It's still really hard to talk about her."
I spoke with Missy's godmother, Jasmine Hartsfield.
She tells me a vigil for Missy will start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday behind the Southwood Community Center.
Attendees are asked to bring a candle and balloon in honor of her.
Hartsfield says the grief is still fresh one week later, but the vigil will not be about how she died, but how she lived.
"To celebrate the time she had here on Earth. And to remember her a beautiful, smart little girl who loved life. She was full of joy."
We first told you about the disturbing details of this case last week.
Missy was found unresponsive in her home on Kipling Court by Tallahassee police.
Detectives say much of her body was covered in bruises.
She was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Missy's stepfather Daniel Spencer and her mother Chloe Spencer were initially charged with child abuse.
Tuesday, those were upgraded to second-degree murder charges.
The state attorney's office says the upgrades came after the medical examiner ruled the death was a homicide.
Daniel had previously been suspected of sexually abusing Missy, but no arrest was made in that investigation.
He was also previously convicted of attempting to have sex with a minor in an unrelated case.
In a previous interview with ABC27, state attorney Jack Campbell says his office plans to vigorously prosecute Daniel.
"I don't want him to, candidly, ever spend a day outside of jail, so that I never have to worry about him hurting another child again."
Hartsfield encourages all attendees to wear any Disney-related clothing or the colors pink and purple to Missy's vigil, because Missy would love it.
There is also a celebration of life planned at Pioneer Baptist Church in Crawfordville on June 14.
In Southeast Tallahassee, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
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