Heidi Garrido said telling her daughter that 7-year-old Evie Brown had died was “the single worst thing” she has ever had to do.
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HOPKINS, Minn. — Cards, toys, flowers and candles outside Brown Bear Childcare offer a glimpse into how a Hopkins community is grieving the loss of a mother and her 7-year-old daughter.
Among the tributes are photos and notes left by two of Evie Brown’s close friends, Dori and Harper.
“The girls were very good friends,” said Heidi Garrido, Dori’s mother and a Hopkins City Council member.

Evie and her mother, Kristen Brown, were killed Aug. 12 inside the family’s in-home daycare. According to a search warrant, Nathan Brown, Kristen’s husband and Evie’s father, fatally stabbed them before killing himself. Before Brown went to the daycare, he killed his mother, Alice Brown, police say.

Garrido said Evie, Dori and Harper were close friends who were preparing to start second grade together.
“They really all liked the same things, the unicorns and rainbows and fairies and all things that are magical,” Garrido said.
She described the girls as silly and goofy, often dancing, giggling and talking about the things little girls do.
After Evie’s death, Garrido faced a conversation she never imagined having with her daughter.

“I’m a pretty good speaker, but I had no idea what words to use,” Garrido said.
She said Dori came home and sat in her lap after she sensed there was something wrong when her father picked her up.
“I said, ‘I do. So I’m going to hold you, and I’m just going to tell you this very hard thing,’” Garrido recalled. “And it took me several minutes to say that very hard thing.”
Garrido said watching her daughter process the news was devastating.
“Watching and hearing and feeling my little girl just collapse into me and sob was the worst moment of my life,” she said. “It was terrible.”
In the days since, Dori and Harper have found some comfort in remembering their friend.
On Sunday, the girls visited the memorial outside Brown Bear Childcare, bringing flowers, pictures and notes.
“The girls loved being greeters and telling them about their friend,” Garrido said. “They were like, ‘We’re Evie’s friends. This is us right here in this picture.’”
Garrido said reminders of Evie continue to surface unexpectedly, from old photos to a birthday party invitation.
“One morning, she woke up and rolled over,” Garrido said of Dori. “She said, ‘Mom, I miss Evie,’ and I said, ‘I know, honey. Me too.’”

Garrido is helping organize a candlelight vigil for Kristen and Evie at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Downtown Park in Hopkins.
“This has been such a mind-blowing and devastating thing to happen to the community, to the families, and the healing has to start somewhere,” Garrido said. “We knew we needed a space to grieve and to be together and to hold each other and to care for each other.”
She said organizers also wanted children to have a place where they could feel comfortable and safe as they remember their friend.