{"id":798256,"date":"2026-07-13T20:27:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/798256\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:27:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:27:31","slug":"layla-jeffery-13-was-somewhat-shy-and-well-liked-a-victorian-town-is-struggling-with-her-alleged-murder-victoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/798256\/","title":{"rendered":"Layla Jeffery, 13, was \u2018somewhat shy\u2019 and \u2018well-liked\u2019. A Victorian town is struggling with her alleged murder | Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the week after Layla Jeffery failed to return home in the early hours of 4 July, residents in the tiny Victorian town of Donald worriedly shared posts about the missing 13-year-old girl.<\/p>\n

One woman, who was receiving chemotherapy treatment in the town last week, wrote on Facebook that she felt \u201csick\u201d at the thought of something happening to Layla. Others shared a post from police, asking for any information about her whereabouts.<\/p>\n

On Thursday afternoon, the small community\u2019s worst fears were confirmed when human remains were found in nearby bushland. Since then, Donald has been a community in grief.<\/p>\n

Floral tributes for Layla Jeffrey in Donald. Over the weekend, local sports teams wore touches of pink to honour the school girl. Photograph: Supplied<\/p>\n

Police have charged a 16-year-old boy with Layla\u2019s alleged murder<\/a>, who appeared before a children\u2019s court over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Layla\u2019s aunt, Kaitlyn Cheyne, has remembered her niece as the \u201csweetest girl\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs hard as it is and as horrible it is, [we] were somewhat prepared for this outcome,\u201d she told reporters over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Through tears, Cheyne said Layla had turned the light on before she left her family home on McCracken Street, because she had been \u201cplanning to come back\u201d. She was reported missing the following day.<\/p>\n

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The town of Donald, about 280km north-west of Melbourne, has a population of less than 1,500, according to the latest census. It\u2019s a place where the local football and netball club are at the heart of the community.<\/p>\n

The mayor of Buloke Shire council, Graeme Milne, said \u201ceverybody knows everybody\u201d in Donald.<\/p>\n

As school resumed for term three on Monday, Milne said psychological support was being provided for local children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be a lot of hurt around. At that age, kids \u2026 have only got to know you for five minutes and you\u2019re a mate,\u201d Milne said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would expect the kids are finding it tough going.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sunraysia Highway in Donald. Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance Archive\/Alamy<\/p>\n

Milne said community members had described Layla as \u201csomewhat shy\u201d and \u201cwell-liked\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe did have a great group of friends,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re sticking with the family and sticking together to work their way through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milne said the Donald community was now banding together to support her family and friends.<\/p>\n

Map showing location of the town of Donald relative to Melbourne, Swan Hill and Horsham in Victoria.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect that of small communities but we\u2019re lucky that ours do it very well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Over the weekend, local sports teams wore touches of pink to honour the school girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a community let\u2019s stand together and support one another during this incredibly difficult time! May we find strength in each other as we navigate the days ahead,\u201d read a statement posted on Facebook by the Royal Blues News Football, Netball and Hockey Club on Friday evening.<\/p>\n

A crowdfunding campaign for Layla\u2019s family to cover general expenses and funeral costs had raised more than $41,000 by Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kindness, compassion and support shown by our community has been extraordinary. Thank you for standing beside Layla\u2019s family, honouring Layla\u2019s memory, and respecting their privacy during this incredibly difficult time,\u201d a message on the page read.<\/p>\n

According to pastor Lisa Woods, people in a local mother\u2019s chat had expressed wanting to support Layla\u2019s family. Photograph: Supplied<\/p>\n

Donald pastor Lisa Woods attended a church vigil on Sunday afternoon to remember Layla.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice for people to reach out to connect with other people \u2026 despite your religion or your ethnicity or socioeconomic status, any of that kind of stuff, but still to connect with people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A floral tribute has also been established at the Bullock\u2019s Head viewing platform, overlooking the Richardson River.<\/p>\n

Woods said that in a local mother\u2019s chat, people had expressed wanting to support Layla\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is just saying \u2018what can I do?\u2019 and \u2018how can I help?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

John McConville, a former chair of community organisation Donald 2000, set up to ensure the town\u2019s viability, said there was anger in the community. He said the alleged murder had \u201crocked us a little bit\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a community we have to regroup,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a horrible feeling to be looking over your shoulder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to let it settle and give the family a bit of room and then we can assess what needs to happen to help them out. That\u2019s our only avenue at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the week after Layla Jeffery failed to return home in the early hours of 4 July, residents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":798257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-798256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}