AP

Leslie Sherman, 20, was killed in Norris Hall during the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16, 2007.

KENNEWICK, Wash. - A Tri-Cities family is preparing for the difficult journey to Virginia Friday to attend the funeral of a relative who died in the Virginia Tech massacre.

20-year-old Leslie Sherman was in French class when the gunman walked in and started firing in Norris Hall.

"We've been beside ourselves helpless," said Dawn Adams, the victim's aunt. "It's a very difficult situation to be on this side of the United States."

Her grandmother and some 16 other relatives live in Kennewick. One of them is a deputy prosecutor for Benton County.

Sherman had visited her family in Kennewick just last week.