Melanie Saephan will be remembered forever at Catawba Valley Community College.
The quiet but friendly 20-year-old health-care management student was one of four family members found murdered in their home on Gristmill Drive in Conover on March 12.
Chiew Chan Saevang, 37, of Schofield, Wis., was later identified as the killer. The investigation by Catawba County sheriff's investigators led authorities to Utah, where Saevang and Yer Yang, of Long View, were spotted in a BMW on Interstate 15. They engaged in a high-speed chase with authorities that ended when Saevang wrecked the car and killed himself and Yang.
Brian Tzeo, Melanie's father, went to California to bury his family. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
Saephan's classmates and two of her instructors, Kim Ford and Christy Land, collected money to place a memorial stone in the student center courtyard at CVCC.
"The students needed some type of closure, and we did, too," said Land, who taught Saephan in principles of financial accounting.
They collected about $230 and had a stone engraved, saying, "In memory of Melanie Saephan. A student classmate and friend." The stone is placed in a flower bed, with flowers on either side. Ford said they hope to have more trees and flowers planted around it soon.
"We talked about planting a tree in her honor, but this just seemed like the right thing to do," Land said. "This way, she'll have a permanent place here."
The courtyard, where Saephan's stone is placed, is in front of the West Wing, where she attended classes.
Ford and Land hosted a dedication for the memorial stone Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
"She was in my class during that time," said Ford, who taught Saephan in medical billing and coding.
Ford also taught Saephan in three health-care management classes last semester. Ford spoke about the purpose of the memorial to the 75 or so students, co-workers and friends of Saephan's who came to the dedication. She and Land sang "Remember Me," in Saephan's honor, and Leonard Allman, a teacher at CVCC, played "Amazing Grace" on the trumpet. Her friends placed roses, carnations and tulips at the base of her memorial stone.
"It's been hard on the students," Land said. "There were a lot of tears this morning. But I'm very grateful that something was done."
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