In this 2015 photo provided by Tammy Weeks, her daughter, Nicole Lovell, flashes a peace sign in Blacksburg, Va. The 13-year-old girl was found dead just across the state line in Surry County, N.C., and two Virginia Tech students are charged in the case. (Tammy Weeks via AP)
The Associated Press
Nicole Lovell, by all accounts, was at that awkward stage of growing up that all kids go through: clinging to childhood ways while beginning to venture into the adult world.
The 13-year-old still played in the snow with much younger children, a neighbor near her Blacksburg home said. Her mom said she loved pandas and had toy characters from the "Minions" movies in her bedroom - the same room where she apparently slipped through the bedroom window, perhaps to meet a young man five years her senior, hours before she died.
Her favorite color was blue. She loved to sing and dance, and aspired to someday compete on "American Idol."
Like others her age, Nicole was tech savvy - active on Facebook and in other social media forums. She overcame myriad health challenges, including a liver transplant, and endured bullying both at school at online only to have her life cut short. Police say preliminary indications show Nicole was stabbed to death after she went missing last week, but they're revealing little else. Two Virginia Tech students who seemed on the path to bright futures have been charged in her death.
Friends and relatives are scheduled to gather Thursday to say goodbye to the girl who's been called sweet, energetic, outspoken and friendly - "an angel," according to longtime friend Davy Draper. Thursday's funeral will be preceded by visitation Wednesday night at McCoy Funeral Home in Blacksburg.
Nicole's mother, Tammy Weeks, said at a news conference Tuesday that her daughter touched many lives before her own ended suddenly. Weeks became too overcome with emotion to finish her prepared remarks and had to be ushered away.
Stacy Snider, a neighbor of the family, said Nicole and her mother had a great relationship.
"Tammy spoiled her rotten. Bought her everything she wanted. Everything," she said.
Snider said that shortly before Nicole vanished a week ago, the seventh-grader showed her 8-year-old twins a picture of David Eisenhauer along with a thread of texts they had shared. Nicole told the girls she would be sneaking out to meet her 18-year-old "boyfriend," Snider told The Associated Press.
Eisenhauer is charged with abduction and first-degree murder. Another Virginia Tech student, 19-year-old Natalie Keepers, is charged with improper disposal of a body and with being an accessory both before and after the child's slaying. Their attorneys have declined to comment. Keepers is scheduled to be in court for a bail hearing Wednesday afternoon.
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O'Dell reported from Richmond, Virginia. Allen G. Breed contributed from Blacksburg, Virginia.
Tammy Weeks holds one of her slain daughter's stuffed pandas during a news conference in Blacksburg, Va., on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Weeks says her 13-year-old daughter, Nicole Lovell, fought health problems all her life and had dreams of singing on "American Idol." (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
The Associated Press
Tammy Weeks cries as she speaks to reporters in Blacksburg, Va., on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Weeks says her 13-year-old daughter, Nicole Lovell, fought health problems all her life and had dreams of singing on "American Idol." (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
The Associated Press
This undated photo provided by Tammy Weeks shows her daughter, Nicole Lovell, posing when she was 10 in Blacksburg, Va. The 13-year-old girl was found dead just across the state line in Surry County, N.C., and two Virginia Tech students are charged in the case. (Tammy Weeks via AP)
The Associated Press
In this Jan. 31, 2016 photo, Blacksburg Lieutenant Mike Albert announces that Virginia Tech student Natalie Keepers was arrested in connection to the death of Nicole Madison Lovell, in Blacksburg, Va. Keepers faces charges of improper disposal of a body and accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony. (Edmee Rodriguez/The Roanoke Times via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; SALEM TIMES REGISTER OUT; FINCASTLE HERALD OUT; CHRISTIANBURG NEWS MESSENGER OUT; RADFORD NEWS JOURNAL OUT; ROANOKE STAR SENTINEL OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
In this Jan. 31, 2016 photo, troopers prepare to search the Duck Pond in Blacksburg, Va. The investigation continued in the death of Nicole Madison Lovell as a state police search and recovery team searched the pond for evidence on the Virginia Tech Campus. (Edmee Rodriguez/The Roanoke Times via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; SALEM TIMES REGISTER OUT; FINCASTLE HERALD OUT; CHRISTIANBURG NEWS MESSENGER OUT; RADFORD NEWS JOURNAL OUT; ROANOKE STAR SENTINEL OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
In this Jan. 31, 2016 photo, trooper Christopher Grzelak puts on his flippers as he gets ready to dive into the Duck Pond, in Blacksburg, Va. The investigation continued in the death of Nicole Madison Lovell as a state police search and recovery team searched the pond for evidence on the Virginia Tech Campus. (Edmee Rodriguez/The Roanoke Times via AP) LOCAL TELEVISION OUT; SALEM TIMES REGISTER OUT; FINCASTLE HERALD OUT; CHRISTIANBURG NEWS MESSENGER OUT; RADFORD NEWS JOURNAL OUT; ROANOKE STAR SENTINEL OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
Stacy Snider talks to friend Patricia Gavley outside her home in Blacksburg, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Snider's twin daughters say slain teen Nicole Lovell, a former neighbor, showed them a photo of an 18-year-old man named David on her phone, called him her "boyfriend." (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
The Associated Press
Stacy Snider talks to a reporter outside her home in Blacksburg, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016. Snider's twin daughters say slain teen Nicole Lovell, a former neighbor, showed them a photo of an 18-year-old man named David on her phone, called him her "boyfriend."(AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
The Associated Press