HOUMA, La. — Hundreds gathered Friday night to remember two-year-old Ezekiel Harry, who was taken from his Houma community too soon.
The child was killed earlier in the week, his lifeless body found in a garbage can.
Cynthia Harry, Ezekiel’s grandmother, remembering the baby she will never see become a man, told Eyewitness News that her grandchild, liked Spiderman
Ms. Harry recounted the memories she had of her grandson.
"Running around in the house, touching everything, knocking on the doors, playing with my keys, he liked to play with my keys,” Harry said.
The Houma community sharing the family’s grief. “I could just not believe somebody put a human being, let alone a child in the trash can,” resident Carmalisa James said.
Ezekiel’s mother, Maya Jones, and her live-in boyfriend, Jermaine Robinson could potentially face the death penalty after the child was found dead in a duffle bag in a garbage can following what police said was a fabricated search for a child who was already dead.
Sylvia Wright another Houma resident says she always wanted a child, so this tragedy hit home for her, as she never got the chance to be called mom.
“You have women like me wishing I could have a baby," Wright said.
Clark Nixon struggling to understand how this could happen.
“It's just a kid... How can anybody think to do something like that,” Nixon said.
Adrienne Frances says she met Ezekiel at the Haven, a domestic violence shelter in Houma, she remembers looking after the toddler.
“Rocked him many a night from nightmares and crying, his two sisters and his brother meant the world to me,” Frances said.
Police have said they are looking into any abuse and drug use in the home.
“He was like my child. As soon as he saw me come to work at night, he would throw his hands up and just want to stay in my arms…. He wanted a mother's love, that’s all he ever wanted,” Frances said.