And while police investigate and prepare to charge the boy's killers tonight the Antelope Street Extension community which has coalesced into an extended family continues to mourn while just about the entire nation remains in shock and disbelief. Executive condolences from Cabinet were delivered by Minister of Human Development Sylvia Flores who visited the area this afternoon. We'll have that later but first Keith Swift picks up the story from last night as the neighborhood said goodbye to the boy at a chilling graveside ceremony. It's riveting footage you will see only on 7NEWS taken by videographer Fortunato Noble who remained on the scene throughout.
Keith SwiftReporting,
Darkness fell on Antelope Street Extension last night and, with it, came the reality that the terrible discovery stowed inside a refrigerator in this abandoned house, had forever changed this community. With the aid of a generator, Police Forensic Examiner Dr. Mario Estradabran performed an on site post mortem on the body of Oscar Velasquez inside the house where he was found.
And despite nightfall
outside the family and community remained on standby
sharing hugs and a fair amount of tears for Oscar.
As the mother wept, the father returned to the scene carrying a small wooden casket for his son on his shoulder. Dr. Estradabran later emerged from his examination with notes and specimen samples from the boy's body, which were placed in these paper bags.
Jorge Velasquez then re-emerged with a casket now nailed shut, this time he was carrying his son.
He headed for the Lord Ridge Cemetery where the community that this week joined together to search for Oscar was preparing to bury him. Neighbor Cecil Martin
dug the small grave as an eerily composed father watched on; it would be the calm before he was carried away in a flood of emotion.
He along with 4 other men then carried the casket over the plot where a small
graveside ceremony was held. A pastor preached while some tried to fight the overwhelming stench from the body and others tried to simply fight back the tears.
Some tried but Oscar's father just couldn't.
Too much for this father burying his 4-year-old son who in a symbolic show
of his grief and affection removed his shirt and placed it on his son's coffin embracing him for the last time.
"Son we'll meet in heaven" he told his son in Spanish.
And as the casket was lowered into the grave the reality became unbearable
for Oscar's grief stricken aunt Rosita who had to be held back as she fought to get into the grave.
And as Jorge and this community threw sand on the coffin and said goodbye to 4-year-old Oscar Velasquez, it was clear this was the ending nobody wanted or expected.
Immediately following last night's burial police detained the boy's mother Maria Sanchez pending charges of child neglect. She spent the night in police custody and was finally released around 4 pm today. Police reportedly have indicated to her their intent to charge her with child neglect. We note that Maria's other two children, a 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, had to spend the night at a neighbor because police had their mother detained.
