A priest at the funeral of murdered pregnant teenager Sylvia Fleming has appealed for an end to the street violence which has followed the discovery of her dismembered body in Omagh, Co Tyrone, last weekend.
Around 700 people attended Requiem Mass yesterday in Christ the King Church in the town's Strathroy Estate.
Ms Fleming's mother Kathleen and sisters, Josephine and Kathleen, wept at the graveside. Special arrangements were made for some of her friends from her former school, St Brigid's High, to sit their GSCE English examination early yesterday so they could attend the funeral.
Pupils formed a guard of honour as the coffin was carried into the church. The principal of St Brigid's, Ms Geraldine McCormick, was among the mourners. Four people, including two juveniles, have been charged in connection with the murder. The body was discovered in the foundations of a half-built house on the Circular Road. Ms Fleming (17) had been missing for two months and was four months pregnant.
Earlier this week, there was rioting and petrol-bombing in the mainly nationalist Mullaghmore Estate. Police were attacked by a group of around 200 youths and several houses were set on fire.
Local politicians and clergy came on to the streets to appeal for calm. Some local people claimed police had not done enough to find Ms Fleming's body after she went missing. The RUC has strongly denied the allegation.
Among mourners at the funeral were SDLP councillor Mr Joe Byrne and expelled Sinn Fein councillor Mr Francie Mackey. In his homily, Father Thomas Canning said Ms Fleming's murder had stunned the community but he appealed to people not to act on their anger.
"None of us has experienced such pain since we heard about Sylvia's death and that of her unborn child," he said. "Her death unfortunately is a sign of the evil caused by a certain amount of human weakness present in our society.
"Our hope is that no other family will ever have to go through again such pain as Sylvia's family has been through during the last couple of months."
He described Ms Fleming as a "caring and considerate girl" and said her murder had aroused strong emotions. "Many cannot help feeling angry about her death. It is an anger hard to cope with but it is important that we don't act on it, causing more evil."
Ms Fleming was buried in Killyclogher Cemetery. Her father Patsy stood at the graveside while his distressed wife and daughters were comforted by a social worker. Ms Fleming's cousin, Leoni Mulcahy, and other friends placed red roses on top of the coffin.