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Mourning Community Gathers To Remember Murdered Young Mother

By Melissa Garcia

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - A community in mourning gathered to remember the Boulder mother allegedly murdered by the father of her baby.

Authorities discovered the partial remains of Ashley "Ashleixgh" Mead, 25, earlier this month in a suitcase in a dumpster outside of a Walmart in Oklahoma.

Investigators were searching for the rest of Mead's dismembered body believed to have been dumped along a route driven by Adam Densmore on his way from Louisiana through Arkansas, and into Oklahoma.

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(credit: CBS)

According to those close to her, Mead's given and legal name was Ashley but she went by "Ashleixgh" socially on Facebook.

Loved ones held a memorial Sunday at a Boulder Public Library where Mead and her daughter used to visit often. They wanted to remember her not by how she died, but by how she lived.

There were hugs and tears as mourners shared memories.

"She would sing, laugh and dance around the art department and make everyone laugh," said a woman who went to high school with Mead.

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(credit: CBS)

Coworkers at the Boulder Headstart preschool where Mead worked said that her personality was full of color.

"Thank you for putting a rainbow in our classroom every day," the coworker said in remembrance.

Some who knew her less said that they felt an instant connection with her.

"It was two conversations, that's it. And it really impacted me," said one woman with whom Mead had recently crossed paths.

"She was a brilliant light in the world," said Gwendilyn Love, the nanny who took care of Mead's 1-year-old daughter, Winter Daisy.

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Ashley Mead (credit: CBS)

Winter, she said, had been temporarily placed in foster care since her mother's death and father's arrest.

Love asked people who came to the memorial to plant seeds that will grow into wildflowers so that the color that Mead brought into the world would live on.

She also offered a clue as to the troubled history that may have lead up to Mead's tragic murder.

"Emotional abuse is a form of domestic violence," Love said.

Boulder police investigators also attended Sunday's service, inviting anyone with information that could be useful to the investigation to talk to them.

Adam Densmore
Adam Densmore (Pawnee County, Oklahoma)

According to authorities, the suspect, Densmore, was scheduled to be transported in the upcoming week to Boulder from where he was currently in custody in Oklahoma.

Densmore was charged with first-degree murder.

Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.

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