'She will always be here for me': Twin sister among mourners of Naperville woman pushed to her death
Images of twin babies cuddled in their parents' arm, a little girl with pigtails, a teenager shimmering in a red dress, and a graceful young woman at graduation flashed before mourners at a service Saturday for Eva Liu.
Liu's family and friends shed tears and broke into smiles while reminiscing in English and Chinese about the warmhearted 21-year-old from Naperville who was killed in June while on a European vacation.
Liu graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May and was about to start a career as a software engineer for Microsoft.
A "giant heart" and "beautiful soul" is how a longtime friend described Liu.
Her sister said the twins' philosophy was "there's no point in doing everything yourself when you have someone who can do part of it."
That meant joint piano sessions. "She would play the left hand and I would play the right hand," the sister said at Living Water Evangelical Church in Naperville.
"We knew that together, we were unstoppable."
Eva, who attended Naperville Central High School and later Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, was "decisive and open. She drew a lot of people to her" and passed those friends on to her twin, her sister said.
Eva also was an accomplished baker who poured love into her cakes and kept chocolate in her drawers for "anyone who was having a bad day" at IMSA. One night, the sister walked into their dorm room to find Eva simultaneously tutoring one student and consoling another who had taken refuge under the bed.
"There were no questions, no judgment, just comfort and good vibes."
Eva encouraged her twin to enroll in graduate school and offered financial support. "I've grown very accustomed to knowing she would always be here for me," she said. "And at the risk of sounding like I'm still in denial, I know she will always be here for me."
Liu's father remembered teaching his determined daughter to bike, swim and Rollerblade. With Rollerblading, "initially, she was afraid, and even shed tears" but didn't give up, he said. He described walks together after dinner when Eva shared her day's activities and family Bible studies. "Eva was the one who prayed best in our family," he said.
"All these beautiful memories are forever imprinted in my heart. When I see her again in heaven, I will tell her these stories."
Eva Liu and a friend were near the popular Neuschwanstein Castle tourist site in southern Germany June 14 when they were attacked by a 30-year-old Michigan man, officials said. Liu was pushed off a mountain slope and died later in hospital. The friend was also injured but recovered.
Their assailant is being held by German authorities on suspicion of murder and related crimes.
"Life is a little bit darker right now," said a resident counselor at IMSA who recalled Liu as a student leader with "a bigger heart than just about anyone I've ever met."
But "I'm comforted that she's still here and she lives on in Alice and in her family and in her friends. Love doesn't go away because a person goes away."
A GoFundMe page has been established for the family.