Family members gathered Friday to pay their final respects to a Staten Island woman killed in Turkey, all while authorities overseas were said to be questioning the relatives of a possible suspect.
The Associated Press reported Turkish authorities briefly detained two brothers and a sister of a man wanted for questioning over the death of Sarai Sierra, 33.
Police say the mother of two sustained a fatal blow to the head after missing her flight home from Istanbul late last month.Family members say she had traveled to Turkey by herself to explore her photography hobby; a friend who was supposed to join her canceled for financial reasons.
Her body was found on February 2.
Citing officials, the AP said the three were taken into custody in the northern city of Karabuk and released after being questioned about the possible suspect's whereabouts.
Those who spoke at the funeral at Christian Pentecostal Church in Concord said her untimely death leaves a tearful void.
"Sarai my heart is forever broken. People tell me that in time the pieces will eventually come back together. If this is true, though hard to believe now, there will always be that missing space in my life," said Sierra's sister, Christina Jimenez.
"It's very difficult. I've done a lot of funerals, and this is very difficult," said Reverend John Rocco Carlo, the church's senior pastor.
Friday's service was held in the church where Sarai met and married her husband of 15 years.
"Thank you for those of you that helped us in finding her, and thank you to for the authorities that are still doing what they need to do so that justice will be served," said Sierra's husband, Steven Diaz-Sierra.
Sierra's body is scheduled to be buried at nearby Silver Lake Cemetery.