ST. LOUIS • Relatives and friends gathered Thursday to say goodbye to a Berkeley woman police say was murdered in ºüÀêÊÓƵ last week.
A memorial service for April Fields, 25, was held Thursday at the Third Presbyterian Church in Moline Acres. Pastor Cedric Portis Sr. said about 180 people attended.
Fields was found dead Jan. 8 outside an apartment complex in the 800 block of Rivertrail Court on the northern edge of the city near the Mississippi River.
Fields’ body had puncture wounds to her torso and buttocks, police said. Authorities have not released Fields’ cause of death. Police have not given additional details about the case and have made no arrests.
Fields was born in Germany while her father was in the Army. Her father, Lamont Fields, 49, said the family moved to Salisbury, Md., when his daughter was a toddler. After high school and some college in Maryland, she moved to ºüÀêÊÓƵ to live with her mother’s side of the family.
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April Fields left behind a 3-year-old daughter, Skylar. Lamont Fields said his daughter was in an on-and-off relationship with Skylar’s father. The child is now staying with a family member.
She had taken business classes at the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ and the Kaplan University Learning Center, Lamont Fields said in a telephone interview from Maryland, where another memorial service is set for Monday.
April Fields was working toward earning her bachelor’s degree this fall. Her father said she also sang in church choir since her childhood and continued singing in church in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Fields worked at Continental REO Services, an Olivette-based real estate company, for the past three years, said her manager Mary-Kathleen Kearns. Her job as title coordinator was to find and fix discrepancies in real estate titles and liens.
“She was incredible,†Kearns said.
Fields served on the company’s charity committee, helping coordinate the company’s team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 2011 and 2012.
“She was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met in my life,†Kearns said. “She was so much fun. Our whole company is just devastated.â€
The company is setting up a memorial fund to help Fields’ daughter.
Fields was buried at the Laurel Hill Memorial Gardens cemetery in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
Police have asked anyone with information about the crime to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477. Tipsters may be eligible for a reward.