(CNN) -- They were sons and daughters, with their whole lives ahead of them. Until -- for reasons no one has yet explained -- their lives came to a horrific, bloody halt on a rural road on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau. 

Dominic Davis, 17 

Davis was new to Tennessee, having recently moved from Colorado with his family "to make life better," Cumberland County's school district explained in information distributed to the media. 

But in his short time here, school superintendent Donald Andrews told CNN, "They had endeared themselves to the community." 

A sophomore at Cumberland County High School, where he was well-liked and respected, Davis loved art, music and sports, especially basketball. 

Academically, his goal was modest -- to pass all his classes with at least a C. But in life, as he wrote in a class assignment, it was deeper and loftier: "I want to be remembered not as the best man alive, but the most respected." 

Suspect detained in Tennessee 

Steven Presley, 17 

Presley used to miss class often. But his attendance was perfect after transferring to The Phoenix School, where he stood out -- and was singled out -- as an example that students could change and improve their lives. 

And Presley made others' lives better in the process. The school district described him as "always happy, smiling, funny, kindhearted, sweet and polite," the type pf person "who would do anything for anyone (and) was loved by all who knew him." 

He graduated from The Phoenix School in May. By then, Presley had already made a big impression with people from all walks of life who were lucky enough to cross his path. 
WHAT HOBBIES DID HE HAVER?
Davis loved art, music and sports, especially basketball. 
