OXFORD -About 3,000 people gathered last night for a candlelight vigil and quiet reflection on the lives of three Miami University students who died in an off-campus fire during the weekend.
Bill Forsythe, student government president, welcomed the crowd at a reflecting pool and a harpist played while the crowd pondered silently.
It will take a long time to recover
Miami President James Garland said later.
Among the crowd were several members of the Miami rugby team, in honor of one of its members, Stephen Smith, 22, of Bethesda, Md., who died in the fire.
The other victims were Julia Turnbull, 21, of Milford, and Kathryn Welling, 21, of Bronxville, N.Y.
Officials said Turnbull and Welling died of carbon monoxide inhalation. There was no immediate ruling on how Smith died.
Leanne Vanderbyl, a senior journalism major, said she knew Turnbull well.
She was an amazing girl. I knew she would have gone on to do so many amazing things ... and to have such a great life cut short Vanderbyl said.
Fire officials said eight people also in the house escaped the blaze, which started about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
The house is in a neighborhood of older homes surrounded by large trees a few blocks from the campus, about 30 miles northwest of Cincinnati.
-The Associated Press
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