The mother of a 7-year-old girl who died inside a Jacksonvillle home in Florida looked on in relief as the house was burnt to the ground this week.

Diena Thompson's little girl was lured into a house in which 24-year-old Jared Harrell was squatting in 2009 and was subsequently raped and murdered.

Somer Thompson had been making her way home from school with siblings when she ran ahead to pet a dog and ultimately met a devastating end at the hands of Harrell.

Bankers who took ownership of the house following the incident donated the house to Somer's mother who went on to donate it to Orange Park Fire Department, who practised rescue missions within the home before reducing it to ash and embers this week.

While watching flames engulf the building, Somer's mother said: "I don't know how someone could look at a 7-year-old and take their life and know, you know, you're taking it and it's leaving and still be OK and follow through with that."
 


Members of the community who were present during the blaze commented on the decision to rid the neighbourhood of the house, with one onlooker saying: "This house is an eyesore to me and my mother. Lord knows what happened in that house and I think it's safer for everyone if it just burns down because I don't want to be reminded of the memories." 

Five years on from the incident that devastated the Thompson family, Diena said: "None of us really knew what we had when we had her. She's our sunshine."

Alluding to plans she has for the property, Diena said she intends to turn it into something miraculous.

Somer Thompson's body was found in a Georgia landfill days after Harrell kidnapped her.

Somer's killer is serving life in prison after pleading guilty in February 2010.

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