'We love you Riss': Funeral service held for Larissa Beilby

Family and friends have gathered in Brisbane to celebrate the life of Larissa Beilby, a fortnight after the 16-year-old's body was found dumped in a barrel.

Peter Beilby (centre, right), the father of slain Brisbane teenager Larissa Beilby, walks behind his daughter's hearse.

Peter Beilby (centre, right), the father of slain Brisbane teenager Larissa Beilby, walks behind his daughter's hearse. Source: AAP

The sister of slain Brisbane schoolgirl Larissa Beilby does not want to say goodbye to the teen.

Older sister Deanna told mourners gathered at the Lakeview Chapel on Brisbane's northside her heart had been shattered and emotions destroyed after her 16-year-old sister was allegedly murdered by 34-year-old Zlatko Sikorsky.

"You were and will always be the life of our family ... you were too beautiful for this world," she told the private service on Thursday.
Larissa Beilby.
Larissa Beilby. Source: Facebook
"This isn't a goodbye Riss, it's a see-you-later. I'll see you again one day and I'll hold you so tight."

Uniformed and plain clothes police were among those who came together to celebrate Larissa's life, after a public memorial in Strathpine on Sunday.

Mourners were seen carrying flowers and one young woman held a hand-painted sign reading "Larissa. RIP baby".

In an off-the-cuff tribute, Larissa's brother Nathan said he had struggled to make sense of his sister's death.

"I wanted this to be natural but there is pretty much nothing natural about it, apart from it should'n't have happened" he said.
"The person I want to be speaking to is not in the room ... you will never be forgotten."

Flanked by his children, grieving father Peter gave an emotional eulogy.

"I will always miss her so much and I will never stop. So fly high Riss," he said.

Sikorsky is accused of killing the teen and leaving her body in a barrel on the back of a ute he dumped at a Gold Coast housing estate.

He then fled, sparking a huge manhunt, but police caught up with him at a Sunshine Coast unit, where a 28-hour siege unfolded.

He eventually surrendered and was charged with murder, torture, deprivation of liberty and interfering with a corpse. He's also accused of attempting to murder another woman.

The Queensland Police Service has publicly expressed sympathy for the family.

"Our thoughts are with the loved ones of Larissa Beilby today as they prepare to say farewell to her. May she rest in peace," the service said in a tweet on Thursday.

Sikorsky's lawyer Brendan Ryan has told reporters his client intends to defend the charges relating to Larissa's death, suggesting she died as a result of misadventure.


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