FARMINGTON — Holding a gold urn containing her mother’s remains, Julie Shaw, Grace Burton’s only daughter, made a tearful plea Tuesday for help in finding her mother’s killer.

A week after Burton, 81, was fatally stabbed in the middle of the night in her apartment, Shaw, one of Burton’s six children, spoke publicly for the first time about the killing.

“My family needs to know who did this to our mother,” Shaw said, shaking while standing behind a photo of her mother.

Shaw started by saying that Burton had six children, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Many of them stood behind her while she spoke to the media at the scene of the home invasion, which was still surrounded by yellow police tape.

“Ma was a kind, loving woman who was so full of life,” said Shaw, 49.

She thought she was going to die eventually from cancer, and wrote her obituary with that belief. Instead, the killer “snatched her life away” from her family and friends, Shaw said.

“Obviously, the person who committed this horrible act has no conscience if they could do this to an 81-year-old woman,” she said.

Burton lived in her apartment on Fairbanks Road for 10 years, said Shaw. More than 15 of her family members and friends stood in front of the apartment Tuesday, many hugging and crying as they greeted each other before Shaw spoke.

Sheila Butterfield, 39, stood silently while holding Burton’s photo in front of photographers and news cameras. Her husband, Robert A. Butterfield III, is one of Burton’s grandchildren, Shaw said.

Shaw broke into tears when asked about the gold urn after the gathering. “This is all I have left of her,” she said.

Shaw asked people to call law enforcement with any tips about the attacker, who police say stabbed Burton during the home invasion at 1 a.m. June 21 at the Margaret Chase Smith Apartments.

State police Lt. Brian McDonough answered questions about the search for Burton’s killer, who investigators believe cut his hands and fingers during the attack.

A police roadblock Monday night into Tuesday morning in front of the Margaret Chase Smith Apartments gave investigators about six new leads, he said.

Investigators found a significant amount of the assailant’s blood at the scene, and are using DNA samples from that blood to search for the killer, McDonough said.

A total of 70 people have given DNA samples to investigators. The samples, which have been given voluntarily, have been taken from family members, friends, co-workers and people who had connections to Burton, he said.

Possible suspects identified by tips from the public have also submitted DNA samples.

More than 200 people have been interviewed by law enforcement, and McDonough said he is optimistic about the how the investigation is progressing.

He said the knife that was used in the attack has not been found. He also said investigators are looking into any possible connection between the case and a home invasion Monday in nearby Livermore Falls.

In that case, police are searching for two men who reportedly entered a home Monday morning and pistol-whipped a woman, according to The Associated Press.

Maine has a significant drug problem, which is leading people to commit crimes that weren’t seen a decade ago, McDonough said.

The man believed to be Burton’s attacker was last seen walking along Fairbanks Road about 1:30 a.m. on June 21, police said. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and had a black backpack.

Investigators believe he is a 5-foot, 7-inch man who had a small thin mustache, and now may be trying to hide significant cuts on his hands by wearing gloves or long sleeves.

McDonough encouraged people to call in tips, even if they think it’s not something important.

Maine State Police can be reached at 657-3030, Farmington police are at 778-6311, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is at 778-2680 or 911 on a cellphone.