Iliada "Lois" Zois is "smiling right now in heaven" at the kind deeds of the pop singer she adored in life, Darren Hayes of Savage Garden fame.
Last week, Hayes posted a moving tribute to the slain Etobicoke woman, 22, and her brother Jamie, 14, on his MySpace blog, and according to his publicist, also plans to send flowers to the siblings' joint funeral this week in Scarborough.
"Darren heard about the tragedy by a Google alert because his name popped up in the (Etobicoke Guardian) article," Fallon Ullman of Big Machine Media said last week.
"He was completely taken back by the entire situation and felt as though it was the right thing to do to recognize the situation."
Iliada and Jamie's lives came to a violent end at her Kipling Avenue apartment on Christmas Day in what police have called a "grisly" double murder, allegedly at the hands of her common-law husband, Nana Yaw, 27.
Tommy Zois, 16, was also reportedly wounded and held captive for 30 hours when a domestic argument quickly escalated, proving fatal for his brother and sister, police said.
The Hayes tribute has come as a small bright spot in an otherwise heartwrenching time in the lives of the Zois family, said Marg Davidson, the slain siblings' aunt.
"Wow, this is incredible," Davidson said at the news that her niece's crush had heard about her death and was reaching out to the family. "Iliada was a huge fan of Savage Garden and met Darren and adored him."
Although Davidson couldn't remember the exact details of Iliada's post-Savage-Garden-concert meeting with her idol in the late 90s, she said her niece's face would still light up at the very thought of the Australian singer.
"All I know is, she was beaming when she would mention his name. She adored that guy," Davidson said. "She would call the radio personalities and request Savage Garden every night. She was their number one fan in my eyes."
Since posting his tribute to Iliada and Jamie on his MySpace page's (www.myspace.com/darrenhayes) blog last Thursday, nearly 100 notes of condolence and grief from a close-knit online community of Savage Gardens fans have bolstered the Zois family's sense of well-being.
"Words cannot express (our) gratitude and appreciation for Darren Hayes," Davidson said last Friday after reading his tribute and the response from his fans.
"That is beautiful and thoughtful, almost heartbreaking ... it certainly broke mine yesterday when I fond out that Darren Hayes wrote about my niece and nephew in his blog."
Iliada and Jamie Zois' funeral will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 11 at St. John Greek Orthodox Church, 1385 Warden Ave., in Scarborough.
Those wishing to pay tribute to the family are advised that a trust fund account has been set up in their name at the Bank of Nova Scotia, 2290 Lawrence Ave. E., account number 07906 002 0254185.