SOUTH CAROLINA

For SC 5th grader Raniya Wright's funeral, Forest Hill Elementary will excuse absences

Elizabeth LaFleur
The Greenville News

Students who wish to attend the memorial services for fifth-grader Raniya Wright will have their absences excused, according to a news release from the Colleton County School District.

Services for Raniya, 10, will be held Wednesday at noon at Saints Center Ministries in Walterboro. 

Raniya died on March 27, two days after she was involved in a fight in a classroom of Forest Hills Elementary School.

Margie Pizarro, an attorney representing Raniya's mother, Ashley Wright, released a statement saying Wright has spent the last few days gathering with friends, family and her community to make final preparations for laying Raniya to rest.

Pizarro said Wright has spent time selecting the perfect dress and accessories and making sure Raniya's hair is styled perfectly and deciding whether she'll wear lace gloves or have her nails painted. 

"She has been busy selecting the passage of Scripture that wonderfully describes the love that Raniya gave and choosing the perfect song that mimics her personality," the press release said, "all tasks that no parent ever dreams they would have to undertake for their ten-year old child."

Raniya's favorite colors were pink and purple, according to a press release from the school district.

Forest Hill will hold a remembrance day for Raniya on Friday, according to the press release. Students are asked to wear pink or purple, Raniya's favorite colors. 

Many questions remain in the investigation into Raniya's death. The Colleton County School District has not yet said whether a teacher was in the classroom at the time the fight occurred and a cause of death is pending autopsy results that could take weeks.

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Pizzaro said Wright has learned no new details about the incident that occurred in the classroom at Forest Hills, echoing what attorneys for Raniya's father, Jermaine Van Dyke, said during a Monday press conference. 

Mark Peper, one of Van Dyke's attorneys, said the biggest questions that remain are why and how.