Friends Of Woman Murdered In Tacoma Raising Funds For Memorial

LAKEWOOD, WA - A friend of a woman brutally murdered in Tacoma last week has set up a memorial fund to help with costs related to her burial.

Lea Kilcollins, 18, of Lakewood, established the GoFundMe page to raise $4,000 to cremate and hold a memorial for Mary Buras, 22. Buras and Theresa Greenhalgh, 31, were found dead in a Tacoma house last Friday after a fire. Today, Pierce County prosecutors charged Matthew Leupold, 32, with two counts of aggravated murder for their deaths.

According to reports, Leupold, allegedly beat Buras and Greenhalgh with a hammer, decapitated them, and then tried to cover up the crime by burning his house down. Leupold was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time, and was "hearing voices," according to reports.

"I feel like she deserves to have someone put her to rest, since the situation happened how it did, she can't have a funeral or at least an open casket one," Kilcollins wrote on the page. "So I was hoping that since I and her family don't have the money to pay for the cremation, that I could have some friends that care enough to donate a few dollars or so to get this service taken care of.

As of Wednesday, the fundraiser had only raised about $500 toward its $4,000 goal.

Leupold's sister, Lindsey, and a 15-year-old boy were also arrested in connection with the incident. Prosecutors allege that they helped Matthew Leupold cover up the crime and burn the house.

Image via GoFundMe