INDIANAPOLIS — Shannon Lassere's closest friends and family spent Sunday evening in the same parking lot she was found stabbed to death on Indianapolis' far east side.
They were there to create a memorial to remember her.
"She was a kind, loving spirit," said Stephannie Feggans, a friend of Lassere.
Friends described the 58-year-old mother as the person who was always there to protect them.
"I guess this was one time nobody could protect her," Feggans said.
Last Saturday, Jan. 27, IMPD officers found Lassere stabbed to death in a parking lot near North Mitthoefer Road and East 21st Street. Her family said she was on the way to a gas station and never came back.
"You know, there was so much trauma involved, but I know she fought. She was a fighter," Feggans said.
Friends said they'll never forget hearing the news.
"He said, 'Auntie, are you sitting down?' and I said, 'Well of course,' and he said, 'No, really, are you sitting down?' and he started bawling, and I asked, 'What's wrong?' and he said, 'Mom's gone, she's been murdered,'" said Angela Johnson, another friend of Lassere.
Feggans and Johnson drove hundreds of miles to be with Shannon's family. They mourn not just the loss of their best friend, but also 52-year-old Marianne Weis, who was found dead days later, just hundreds of feet away.
IMPD is investigating if the two deaths are connected.
"I feel sorry for that family, too. I mean, come on. She had a family, she was somebody," Feggans said. "Their names need to be spoken over and over and over again."
Lassere's family said that's what they will continue to do, to always remember the impact she made on so many lives.
Police are urging anyone with information on both women's deaths to come forward.