Slain Girl Eulogized by Family : Services: More than 1,000 crowd the church to honor the memory of the Tarzana second-grader. Her alleged killer appears in court.

Nicole Parker’s brother sobbed and told mourners at her memorial service Wednesday that his “life has no meaning,” just hours after the Tarzana second-grader’s alleged molester and killer appeared in court for the first time with an attorney who insisted that his client did not kill the girl.

Hooman Ashkan Panah, 22, shuffled into Van Nuys Municipal Court on Wednesday morning looking haggard in his jail-issued jumpsuit as his lawyer requested--and received--a three-week delay in the Woodland Hills man’s arraignment on kidnaping, child molestation, sodomy and murder charges.

Just a few hours later, more than 1,000 friends and family members of his alleged victim crowded into Our Lady of Grace Church in Encino to honor the memory of Nicole, a happy 8-year-old who loved to act, draw and play softball.

“My sister Nicole was my inspiration. She taught me how to be happy, how to share, how to smile,” said an emotion-racked Travis Parker, a 17-year-old high school senior and the adopted girl’s eldest brother.

“When I was really down and not feeling good, I could always walk to my sister’s room and see her smile and know everything would work itself out. I feel now since my sister is gone, I am alone and my life has no meaning,” he told the mourners who gathered in the church where Nicole was baptized and looked forward to taking her First Communion in May.

Many of those in the pews wept and prayed as they gazed at the tiny white casket with gold trim that was carried to the church doors by pallbearers, including two of Nicole’s brothers. Her youngest brother, Casey, 9, walked in front of the casket, his head bowed. Their parents, Edward and Lori Parker--though formally separated--sat together and embraced in consolation. Several police officers, some in uniform, were clearly moved.

“We close our eyes and we see memories of Nicole,” said Father Carl Markelz, who led the service. “We open our eyes and we’re gathered around her coffin.

“We close our eyes and we see memories of hugs and kisses from Nicole. We open our eyes and we see violence.”

The tragedy began Saturday when the bubbly youngster vanished from outside her father’s Woodland Hills apartment. Her body was found late Sunday stuffed into a suitcase hidden in Panah’s bedroom closet, in the apartment directly across the complex courtyard from where Edward Parker lived. Prosecutors say the girl had been sodomized and choked and had a bump on her head, but they have so far declined to pinpoint the exact cause of death.

Panah, his hair unkempt and his chin unshaven, mostly kept his eyes averted as he appeared before Judge Leland B. Harris for arraignment on charges that include three special circumstances, each of which could result in the death penalty. Harris, however, granted attorney Milton Kerlan Jr.’s request that the proceeding be delayed until Dec. 14.

Although he has yet to be fully briefed on the case--which has sparked fear and outrage throughout Los Angeles--Kerlan said Wednesday that “the information I have is that (Panah) did not murder the girl.” But he declined to elaborate.

Kerlan said his client, who was arrested Sunday while wandering a West Hills neighborhood after an apparent suicide attempt, is “scared” but holding up well.

“Obviously, it’s a bad charge,” Kerlan said. Panah’s family is “distraught. . . . Everyone’s anguishing a great deal.”

Anguish was also evident on the faces of those who gathered to remember Nicole almost exactly four months before her ninth birthday.

“When my parents chose to adopt Nicole, they got the most beautiful little girl in the whole world, and I love her dearly,” said her brother Travis, who broke down and wept. In a eulogy that prompted a long embrace between mother and son in front of Nicole’s casket, the youth played tapes of the songs “You’re My Inspiration” by the band Chicago and “You Are So Beautiful” by singer Joe Cocker.

His most cherished memory of his sister, he said, was the two of them playing softball together in a re-enactment of scenes from the movie “A League of Their Own.” When she was last seen Saturday morning, Nicole was bouncing a softball against the wall of the apartment complex courtyard.

“I don’t think Nicole ever learned how to defend herself,” Travis said. “ . . . I know she is someplace where all is good.”

Parishioners cried as they streamed toward the altar for Communion, confronted by the big sprays of pink and white carnations and roses offered in Nicole’s memory. A teddy bear in a heart-shaped bouquet and a photo of the bright-eyed girl also graced the front of the church, where the family attended Mass regularly.

Lori Parker paused as she went up for the Eucharist, drawing her hand along the edge of the casket that held the daughter she considered “the sunshine of my heart.”

“She was my only girl. She was my baby,” she said earlier this week after learning of her daughter’s death.

“There is no doubt in my heart that Jesus today is embracing Nicole,” said Markelz, who teaches at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, the school attended by Travis Parker and his younger brother, Chad, 15.

After the service, Nicole was buried at the Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks cemetery in Westlake Village. As his parents held hands and the sun began sinking toward the hills, 9-year-old Casey, held by his brother Travis, read a short elegy he had prepared for the sibling closest to him in age.

“This is to my sister, Nicole. I really want my sister to know she was a great sister and that I really loved her,” he said while others cried softly.

No words were spoken at the service or graveside about Nicole’s alleged killer, who police said slashed his wrists and overdosed on sleeping pills Sunday out of despair over the girl.

According to police, Panah made “incriminating statements”--though not confessions--after his arrest, suggesting that the girl’s body might be found in the Santa Monica Mountains and leading detectives to suspect him.

Panah also reportedly made implicating statements to his girlfriend, sources said. But attorney Kerlan, who was hired by Panah’s family Tuesday, said, “Whatever statements he makes . . . he was under the influence of some drugs or other intoxicants” from the failed suicide attempt.

“He may have been hallucinating at the time,” Kerlan said.

Chu is a Times staff writer. Glover and Mrozek are special correspondents.