ORLANDO, Fla. – One week after an Orange County teenager was last seen alive, her family and friends will gather in the church she used to worship to pray for her and for justice.
Alexandria Chery's loved ones have planned a prayer service at 7 p.m. at the Kingdom Church.
Alexandria, 16, was reported missing last Monday. Investigators found human remains in Osceola County on Friday and Alexandria's family says they were told there is a 98 percent chance the body is hers.
Dozens of Alexandria's family members and friends also gathered Sunday night to celebrate the tragically short, yet effervescent life of the teen. The block party at Poppy Park in the Carver Shores neighborhood of Orlando was planned before those who loved her most found out Alexandria was dead. But they decided to still hold the event to remember good times.
"It's hard but I have to stay strong for my best friend. She wouldn't want me to be crying and feeling like this all the time. And we have to celebrate her life," said Franchesca Cadet, Alex's best friend.
Alexandria's friends focused on trying to raise money for her funeral by asking people to donate $3.
The man investigators believe is the prime suspect in her disappearance remains in jail.
Alexandria's mom's boyfriend, Sanel SaintSimon, 43, is not charged in connection with the teen's death, but faces charges for lying to investigators and destroying evidence during the investigation into her disappearance.
Jail records show SaintSimon has been granted bond on the two charges, but there are several holds keeping him in jail.
Local 6 legal analyst Luis Calderon said one such hold may involve an issue with his immigration status. It would have to be resolved before he could bond out of jail.
Deputies have said they are moving on with their investigation as if Alexandria's body has been recovered, despite inconclusive results from the Medical Examiner's Office when it comes to the identification of the body found while searching for Alexandria Friday.
A representative of the ME's office told Local 6 to expect more information about the formal identification of the body Monday.