STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine — It takes a bit of a closer look to notice the small signs of Marissa Kennedy in the small coastal town of Stockton Springs.
Little blue ribbons, a bookshelf in the town’s library and a memorial stone that will one day hold a plaque in her honor are just a few ways community members are keeping her memory alive.
"Not a day goes by that someone in this community isn't thinking about Marissa,” Julia Liversidge said.
Kennedy, 10, was beaten to death in 2018, allegedly at the hands of her mother and stepfather, Sharon and Julio Carillo.
Police said her bloodied body was discovered in a condominium in Stockton Springs owned by Sharon Carrillo’s father where the couple was living.
Julio Carillo pleaded guilty to the killing Monday in Waldo County Superior Court.
“We definitely still feel her here,” Liversidge said. "She has touched all of us in ways that are even hard to describe.
Liversidge and Betsy Bradley are two community members who stepped up to help honor Marissa over the last year and a half.
They said not many people really got a chance to know the family during their short time in the community, but they remember her for attending a local Christmas celebration who was smiley and loved to read.
"She loved books. She loved the library,” Pat Curley said.
Curley said many people still donate to the volunteer-run library in Marissa’s honor.
"It's been devastating, but I think our community really pulled together,” Bradley said. “I think the entire state actually came together to and said we have to make sure this doesn't happen again,”
Local first responders were among those most impacted by Marissa’s death. Many of them are likely to have to testify in Sharon Carrillo’s trial in December.