Services held for slain Longwood professor

FARMVILLE -- Debra S. Kelley was remembered today as a dedicated Longwood University professor who was devoted to her students and encouraged them in their careers and studies.

The Rev. Sylvia Meadows led today's memorial service for Kelley at Farmville United Methodist Church. Kelley was bludgeoned to death along with her husband, Mark Niederbrock; their daughter, Emma Niederbrock, 16; and her friend Melanie Wells, 18. All four bodies were found in the home Kelley shared with Emma in Farmville.

Richard Samuel Alden McCroskey III, 20, of Castro Valley, Calif., is charged with first-degree murder of Mark Niederbrock, and authorities say additional homicide charges are coming.

"In the face of horror and tragedy we are claiming that God is stronger," Meadows, senior minister of Farmville United, said outside the church after the service. "So there is still a celebratory air to it because we know that God is bigger than this and this is not the end. This is not the last word."

A memorial service for Emma Niederbrock is planned for 6 p.m. today at the church.