DETROIT – Family and friends gathered on Friday to pay tribute to a 4-year-old Highland Park who was found tortured and starved to death.
Robert Byrd was found dead May 8 at his aunt and uncle's home in Detroit.
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His funeral was at 11 a.m. at Barksdale Funeral Home.
"I couldn't do nothing. I couldn't do nothing but cry, I was lost," said Byrd's aunt, Molly Brown. "I'm still lost and I don't understand why, why?"
Family friend Drea Johnson called the boy's a tragedy that never should have happened.
"To endure the pain their enduring, I feel sorry for everybody," she said.
Byrd's aunt and uncle, Matilda Gardner and Randy Gardner, are charged with premeditated murder, torture and child abuse. They took over the boy's care when his mother died three years ago.
The Wayne County medical examiner said Byrd died of starvation.
Previous stories:
- May 11, 2011: Couple Arraigned On Murder Charges In Death Of Boy
- May 10, 2011: ME Says Starvation Killed Highland Park Boy