The family of Emily Longley will bring her body home to Auckland this week for a public memorial service.
Emily, 17, was found dead in the bed of ex-boyfriend Elliot Turner in Bournemouth on May 25 and has lain in a British morgue since then. Police toxicology tests failed toreveal the cause of her death.
Last month Turner, 20, was charged with her murder and his parents have also been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Emily's father, Mark Longley of Whakatane, said the coroner had released her body and she was expected to arrive in Auckland on Thursday.
"We are very relieved," he said. "We are pleased we can give her a proper funeral."
He said they would hold a public memorial for her on the North Shore before a private cremation with family.
"We had a service in England for her and we would like to do something here for all the people here who knew her. We haven't had anything for her friends."
Emily grew up in New Zealand, but the Government would not contribute to the cost of bringing her home.
"It's quite a lot, about $12,000," Mark Longley said. "They wouldn't assist us because Emily wasn't a citizen. We were in the process of applying to become citizens. It's quite ironic because everyone in the media refers to her as a Kiwi but that's not quite enough for the Government."
Longley said Turner would enter his plea on September 30, but wouldn't reveal if he would be returning to the UK to attend the hearing.
