Specific, happy details of a victim's life are a quick way to humanize the article's subject and draw the readers in with a sense of personal connection.

It's also a cheap and efficient way to heighten the drama—particularly when it's immediately followed by this:

> Harris spent the past week at the ICU to be with her friend, Angel.

The contrast in that narrative transition is a tidy bit of sensationalism and helps pads out the wordcount.

(Or maybe I'm just being too cynical.)