"It was like it wasn't happening and everybody was wondering why I was so strong ... Now every day I'm just trying not to cry," Lorigan said.
"I have been wanting to get out and say something, I have been just wanting to speak and say 'that was my son, my son'."
Hamilton, the fourth of 11 children who attended Tamaki College and was a keen rugby player, was splitting his time living and working in Auckland and Rotorua.
Hamilton was also part of Tipu Ora's Kia Pakari Young Dads Service in Rotorua and would often take his now 18-month-old daughter Shyanne to play in parks.
"He always made people laugh and smile, even when they were sad," Lorigan said.
Brendon Hamilton was allegedly murdered at a block of Auckland flats earlier this year. Photo / Supplied