The mother of an aspiring-film maker from Epsom who was murdered in Guyana told a packed church of family and friends at a celebration of her son’s life that she is “looking for forgiveness” for his killers.

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Mourners were spilling out into the aisles at St Paul’s Church in Northey Avenue, Cheam, on Saturday at what Reverend Martin Wainwright described as a “long-awaited, but never-wanted” funeral.

Dominic Bernard, 18, was murdered shortly after arriving in south America in October 2015 after travelling there to stay with family in the hope of learning about his heritage and pursuing his dream of becoming a film-maker.

From January: Body found in search for missing Epsom teenager Dominic Bernard

From January: Seven arrested on suspicion of murder of missing Epsom teen Dominic Bernard after body is found

From January: Five charged in connection with murder of Epsom teenager Dominic Bernard

His mother Linda Bernard said her Christian faith allowed her to stand before more than 600 of Dominic’s friends and family, as well as representatives from Surrey Police and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to pay tribute to her son.

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Flanked by her two daughters Madison and Rosheen, Mrs Bernard (pictured above) said: “Dom was killed in a really brutal way, but we have had seven and a half months of preparing ourselves for this day.

“We have to pray for the perpetrators because they have to live with that.

“We have to pray for their families and the children of those families because they are innocent in this.

“I’m looking for forgiveness. To carry this would bitter, and I don’t want to be bitter for the rest of my life.

“I want to celebrate having had my son for 18 years.”

Friends, family and vicars gave moving tributes to Dominic during Saturday’s celebration.

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His coffin – which was decorated with a wreath so large the pallbearers had to stoop in order to carry it beneath the door of the church – was carried into the church to It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boyz II Men.

At the end of the hour-long service it was carried out to I’ll be Missing You by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans, before being taken for internment in Epsom Cemetery in Ashley Road.

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Ian Hughes (pictured above), Reverend at St Mary’s in Burgh Heath, described Dominic as a “creative young man with a great future ahead of him”.

Rev Hughes added: “What can you say when a young man dies?

“However inadequate it may be, we are here today to stand alongside him.

“Jesus said, ‘My Father’s house has many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you’.

“No matter what evil Dom faced in his final moments, the armies of heaven were there ready to carry him safely to his eternal home.”

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Alongside his brother Mat, Dominic’s cousin Ryan Goberdhan shared memories of chasing each other around the room with underwear on their heads as children and making homemade videos together.

Throughout the service, homemade videos were played on two large projectors either side of the stage, showing Dom’s sisters Madison and Rosheen dancing with their mother on holiday in Turkey, and his cousins Mat and Ryan acting in a bizarre spoof pancake and waffle advert (pictured below).

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A live band also played pop-rock versions of Christian hymns, and photo collages and portraits of Dominic throughout his life were on display outside the church.

Dominic’s cousin Ryan said: “Dom brought so much life to my own.

Turning to face the coffin, Ryan told Dominic: “All my favourite memories are of you.

“I love you, Dominic, now and always.”

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Kennedy Adjei (pictured above) met Dominic through the church, and quickly become friends with him.

He said: “Dom was searching for something, and what he was searching for was God.

“I’m so glad that Dom came to know God.

“His memory will never go away from our hearts.”

Dominic moved to Epsom from Enfield when he was just a year old.

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Photo collages of Dominic throughout his life were on display 

He attended Downsend School in Leatherhead, and then Ewell Castle School in Church Street, Ewell, where he regularly played rugby for the school's teams. Friends and staff from the Ewell school packed into St Paul’s Church to say goodbye to their friend and former classmate.

He developed a passion for filmmaking and travelled to Timehri in Guyana on October 14 last year to pursue his dream.

Dominic disappeared shortly after arriving and his body was found in a shallow grave on Friday, January 8, close to the area he was scheduled to stay in.

From January: Donations flood in for family of murdered Epsom teenager Dominic Bernard

From April: Parents of murdered Epsom teenager, Dominic Bernard, to fly out to Guyana to bring body home

After an agonising four-month wait for DNA tests to confirm that the body belonged to Mr Bernard, his parents flew out to Guyana to bring their son home earlier this month.

Mrs Bernard told the congregation of the last time she saw her son alive.

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She said: “My husband (Andrew) and I took Dominic to the airport to say goodbye.

“We looked through departures as far as we could and he just went.

“We walked away and were both in tears and thought, ‘How ridiculous is that’.

“But Dom went away on his trip not knowing that he would be taken from us.”

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Dominic’s father Andrew also believed his and his family’s Christian faith gave him the strength to speak at his son’s funeral.

He said: “We are capable of wonderful things and we are capable of such cruel and terrible things.

“God can turn (being) a victim into a victory.”

It was at this point that a ripple of applause spread around the church, and Mr Bernard received a standing ovation.

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With the entire congregation still standing, he added: “I’m broken because of what happened to my son, but God gives me the strength to be here today.”

Mr Bernard told more than 600 friends and family of his and Dominic’s shared passion for film, and the last time they went to the cinema together.

He said: “The last film we saw was (NWA biopic) Straight Outta Compton.

“I remember coming out of the Odeon in Epsom and Dom said, ‘there is something not feeling right. Pray for me. Pray for me.’ “It was uncanny.”

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Your Local Guardian: Dominic’s godbrother, Aaron Hing, 22, and 23-year-old Staymon George have been charged with the murder, and a man and two women also appeared before a judge accused of helping bury Dominic’s body and his camera equipment.