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Vigil Held For Dad, Daughter Found Dead In Oxford Township

OXFORD TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday night in memory of an Oakland County father and his infant daughter, who were both found dead last Sunday in an Oxford Township home.

Over 100 friends, family, neighbors and co-workers gathered on the front lawn, where candles glowed and sky-lanterns filled the sky above the home on Kintyre Drive.

Twenty-nine-year old Daryne Gailay and his daughter seven-month old Charley Hendrick were found dead, Gailay's mother, 65, was injured and remains in the hospital with few details of the event emerging.

"Sick to my stomach," said Curtis Stamm, a former co-worker of Gailay.

"I just talked to him on Friday before it happened. It's a shame, and I just can't believe something like this could happen to such a nice person."

Investigators were called to the home when the baby wasn't returned to her mother in Tuscola County, as planned, on Saturday.

Neighbor Dionne Beatty said knowledge about the actual crime will not help her in her grief. "I don't know if knowing will actually help, because in this situation, nobody wins."

Prisella Bigford is a friend of the family and organized the vigil.

"It's just so terrible," said Bigford. "Charley and Daryne did not deserve this at all. For whatever reason, whoever did this, all we can do is move forward now, and make sure they get the proper burial and funeral that they need and that justice is served for Charley and Daryne."

On Sunday, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said a "sharp instrument" seized by investigators may have been used in the killings.

Bouchard called it a "very bizarre" incident, as there's no evidence that a stranger was involved but how it happened is "a work in progress" for investigators

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