WASHINGTON - Friends, family, and neighbors gathered Monday night for a vigil in honor of a brutally murdered child on what would have been her ninth birthday.

The day after Christmas, rescue workers found eight-year-old Amari Hall's body inside a burning home on 11th Place in Southeast. Officers report the mother of the young child, 29-year-old Carlese Hall, is responsible for her daughter's death.

A strange set of events unfolded the day the child died. Police report it was actually her mother who alerted them. Naked, Carlese Hall ran out of her home, claiming the house was on fire.

Rescue workers arrived to find the girl clinging to life; she had been stabbed repeatedly.

The mother was arrested and charged with her daughter's murder. She was in the hospital suffering from a collapsed lung, but is now in prison.

At the vigil, Amari Hall's grandmother called the child an angel. "She was a beautiful child," she said. "She was so bright."

Deana Robinson, Carlese Hall's best friend and Amari's godmother, said her friend had fallen on hard times, but insisted she loved her daughter.

"She was a single parent -- she was raising her daughter and she loved Amari, she loved her with all her heart," Robinson said. "I don't know what happened that day but something went terribly wrong," she added.

The mourners lit candles, prayed, and put down stuffed animals to honor the memory of a young girl whose life had just begun.

"Today she is celebrating up in heaven and she has all the children she needs to play with," said one mourner.

Neighbors and friends said they still find it hard to grasp exactly what happened that tragic day.

"That child had a purpose on this earth and she served her purpose. I pray for her mother right now because she has to face the reality of what really happened to her child," said another mourner.

"She was my best friend and we walked home every day and all I want to say is we bless her," said one of Amari Hall's friends.

 Email To Friend           Digg It!