HUNDREDS of people have signed online tribute pages in memory of Donna St John and Debbie Jones.

Friends, family, and wellwishers have been visiting pages on networking site Facebook to remember the women, who were close friends.

Donna St John, from Barnstaple, was born Donna Thorpe in 1975 and went to school in Torrington.

She had two teenage daughters, Natalie and Kara, and brothers, Shane and Joe.

On June 30, Donna wrote on her Facebook page: "I am the luckiest women alive, having two wonderful daughters."

Shortly before her death, she had started a relationship with security guard Dave Szmytki, who was due to return from Afghanistan after he was told about her death.

She worked as a shop assistant at the Co Op supermarket in Sticklepath.

Her public Facebook page showed that Donna enjoyed an active social life in Barnstaple and liked to go out with friends. She had been out in pubs and a club in the hours before she died, police said.

Online tributes to Donna described her as amazing, beautiful, bubbly, fun, happy, and "the life and soul of the party".

Paula Baker, from Torrington, told the Journal: "I met my husband on a night out with Donna.

"She was a lovely girl, happy-go-lucky, and my heart fills with sorrow for all the family.

"I first met her when I worked with her in Torrington, before she married. She was always grabbing life with both hands. She will be a great loss to a lot of people."

Debbie Jones was also born in 1975. She had married Neil Langmead, the only suspect in the murder inquiry, but the relationship had ended.

She had a daughter, Kayley, and a son, Daniel, and lived in Fort Mead Close, which is off Bicton Street, near Yeo Valley School.

She had her own business, Primrose Care and Cleaning, which was used by Wendy Phillips, from Yelland.

Wendy told the Journal: "She came to help me when my eyesight started to fail and she lit up my world. She was a wonderful girl and couldn't do enough for me and anyone else.

"She became a friend, always there at the end of the phone. She and Neil came to help me when I had flooding.

"The news has shook me rigid. I can't believe it. It's like losing a daughter, really.

"We used to sit and giggle and talk about silly things. She will be sadly missed."

And Sam Sharp wrote to the Journal to pay this tribute: "Debbie, you were such a bubbly, happy person who always had a smile.

"You were so caring, a friendly face we could always turn to."