Long after the candlelight vigil ended, mourners continued to stream in to pay their respects for 10-year-old Sophie Wang.
For an hour, hundreds had gathered on Friday to sing, pray and remember the Year Five student who was allegedly killed by her mother on the Gold Coast.
They took turns placing candles around a picture of Sophie that took centre stage at the vigil near her home in Emerald Lakes.
Students at Sophie's school Emmanuel College sang a heartbreaking rendition of the hymn Amazing Grace.
The vigil officially concluded after 60 minutes, but the mourners kept coming.
There seemed to be no end to the very public outpouring of grief that began when Sophie's father, Yun Wang, discovered his daughter's body at their home on Tuesday night.
"My heart goes out to family, friends and classmates and the emergency services who have been shaken by this unspeakable tragedy," local state MP Meaghan Scanlon told AAP.
"But it is comforting to see the Gold Coast community come together and share their grief."
Sophie's father Dr Wang - a respected academic - could reportedly be heard by neighbours screaming after discovering his daughter.
She was declared dead at the "incredibly confronting" scene and her mother Yingying Xu, 46, was later charged with murder.
Floral tributes have been placed at Sophie's home, which is one street away from Emmanuel College where hundreds gathered for a chapel service on Friday morning.
The chapel could not accommodate all the mourners, with the service broadcast outside.
Flowers and messages were left at a makeshift memorial at the school.
"What will continue is Sophie's legacy and her memory," an emotional Emmanuel College principal Dan Brown told reporters.
He later led a minute's silence at the vigil, thanking mourners for their attendance.
"This is a testament to the strength of our community," Mr Brown said.
But for some, the tragedy has turned the once tranquil community upside down.
"The last couple of days it's just felt sad, eerie," Emerald Lakes local Tamara Christensen told AAP.
"How could it happen?"
