Tiane Brown

DETROIT, MI -- Tiane Brown did what she was supposed to; she was driven, always curious, respectful and responsible, on a path toward success.

It wasn't enough; the 33-year-old Waterford resident

fell victim to violence in Detroit this week. She joins a list with nearly 270 others who have been killed in the city this year.

Hundreds of family, friends and classmates stood in a semi-circle at Gilmour Mall behind the Wayne State University Law School Wednesday evening with their hands cupped around the flickering flames of white candles.

Many had tears in their eyes.

"I just wanted to thank you because this is amazing," said Danyelle McCrear, Brown's sister. "This hurts beyond measure, but this is great, this is the best thing I've eve seen. Everyone has come together, everybody has done a lot to try and help us.

"I'm just glad you guys would kind of get together and do this for us because this means a lot. I thank you. Thank you."

Brown was last seen on Wayne State University's campus about 8 p.m. Monday and her parents called police when she didn't arrive at their West Bloomfield home to pick up her three children, 14, 8 and 1.

Police discovered Brown's body in her black SUV hidden behind some trees in a fenced-in area of a vacant lot near Detroit's Packard Plant Wednesday morning.

Police said she appears to have died from a gunshot.

Detroit police arrested "two persons of interest,"who haven't been charged with any crimes. Police aren't offering further details.

"I have a question... This question is for the murderers, the wannabe murderers, and the gonna-be murderers," said Nate Brown, Tiane Brown's stepfather. "What gives you the right to take another person's life?"

Two classmates who spoke at the vigil referred to Brown as a "superwoman."

She had so much going for her, friends say, three healthy children, masters degrees in business administration and bio-medical engineering, and another degree pending in law, jobs as a law clerk and engineer, a nonprofit organization and a community and family who supported and loved her.

Brown was studying to become a patent attorney when she graduated in May.

"You come here and you think that you're going to save the word, and that you're going to make an impact in the most positive way on your community," said Kelly Carter, a Wayne State University law student and friend of Brown's. "And not for one day do you think you are going to fall victim to reasons why we are here.

"And so I am just so sorry that we're going through this, I'm sorry for her family. She didn't deserve this."

She was "very intellectually curious" with "a great clarity of thought," said Kathy White, a law professor. "

She wanted to change the world and make it a better place for all of us."

When Brown first disappeared, classmates created a search party of nearly 30 and asked police to help in the search. They scoured neighborhoods, search empty homes and overgrown alleys hoping to find Brown alive.

Wayne State University officials, university Police Chief Anthony Holt and more than 200 supporters were on hand. Police Chief James Craig, whose department is leading the investigation, arrived as the vigil began to wind down and spoke with some of Brown's family and a professor.

Tiane Brown's mother, Sheryl Jones, thanked the crowd that gathered to honor her daughter.

She spoke about how much Tiane Brown lover her children and said her eldest, following in her mother's footsteps, is in her school's law club and has a passion for the legal system. Her 8-year-old granddaughter, Jones said, doesn't seem to grasp the fact that she will never see her mother again.

"I never imagined this would happen in a million years," said Jones. "It hurts so much. I lover her so much... unfortunately her life ended... too soon."