A baby who was found starved to death was honoured with a bright funeral service attended by mostly strangers on Thursday afternoon.
Mya Edwards, an abused seven month old baby, was starved to death in January in her Chicago home by her parents. Markisha Jones, 19 and Gene Edwards 22, face carges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment and are being held on a $250,000 bond.
According to
The Huffington Post, the abused baby was laid to rest in front of 150 strangers who stood out to show their respect for the child, and just one relative – her uncle Joaquin Edwards.
Edwards told the
Chicago Sun he was finally at peace:
"I feel very pleased and at ease to know that she is buried.”
The grieving uncle was accompanied by more than 30 members of the Barrington Police Department and 100 complete strangers who had learned about the tragic ending of the baby through local news reports.
According to
CBS Chicago, Mya died after her parents had taken her and her twin off formula. They instead filled their bottles with just water, cereal and baby food. Mya was recovered from a dark, damp room but had died.
Her twin is still undergoing treatment for malnutrition at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
The funeral was arranged by non-profit organisation Rest In His Arms, who petition for the release of children who were left to die in order to give abandoned deceased children proper burials. The group also works to educate the public on the Illinois Safe Haven Law, which allows adults to leave babies 30 days or younger at designated places - without fear of prosecution, as long as the baby isn't injured.
Nearly all aspects of baby Mya’s funeral, including the coffin and flowers, were donated by members of the public.
According to
The Huffington Post, law enforcement officers said they felt the service gave much-needed closure to the first responders, providing a level of dignity to Mya that she was deprived of throughout her short life.
Speaking to local news, Detective Sergeant Kevin Croke said:
"We were able to show this young girl who wasn't loved in life and abandoned in death that she was loved.”
