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Jayne Furlong, 17, in 1993. - Source: Police -
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Family and friends have finally had the chance to farewell murdered teenager Jayne Furlong.
Furlong's 20-year-old son, Aidan Norsworthy, and her mother Judith, were among the mourners at this afternoon's service at St George's Anglican Church in Epsom.
The service came nearly 19 years after the 17-year-old disappeared from Karangahape Road.
Around 200 friends and family members attended the funeral, including Furlong's partner, Dani Norsworthy.
"I decided to hold this service for Jayne because it will acknowledge I hope, that Jayne was a real person with a family and friends rather than just a teenage prostitute," Judith Furlong told the congregation.
She also told mourners of how her daughter was an adorable baby, and a mischievous teen, with a love for the heavy rock band Guns N Roses.
Furlong said her daughter was a prostitute for around two years, and at the time she thought it was just a phase.
"I still think that would have been the case had she lived, but she didn't get the chance."
Her daughter's remains were discovered buried deep under a sand dune at a Port Waikato Beach in May, prompting police to reopen her case.
When Furlong disappeared she was due to testify as a witness for the prosecution in two separate cases - one involved gang members accused of an assault, the other a businessman charged with brutal attacks on sex workers.
A homicide investigation was launched at the same time and police believe more than one person was involved in the part-time sex worker's death.
Police are now probing old information and have set up a
Facebook page to help with their inquiries.