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Boy who was abused laid to rest

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Grief succumbs to anger as family, friends of boy's parents clash; father injured

Crocker Stephenson

The Journal Sentinel

The emotional funeral of Christopher L. Thomas Jr. erupted in violence Wednesday as family and friends of the child's mother and father clashed with each other in bitter frustration.

Christopher's foster mother, Crystal P. Keith, was charged last week with beating the 13-month-old boy to death and with torturing his 2-year-old sister, who remains hospitalized. Keith is married to the brother of the child's father, also named Christopher Thomas.

Thomas, 22, who is serving a work release term on a drug conviction, attended the service with several friends and family. He sat in the first row of the Serenity Funeral Home chapel near the baby's 23-year-old mother, Candace Glover.

From the start, the funeral stirred deep emotions.

Christopher's child-sized steel casket was open. Mourners gasped, some wept, as they approached him. He wore white formal clothes, a white shirt and a white bow tie. His tiny body was difficult to square with the violence of his death. He appeared doll-like.

As services began, Glover rose from her chair and stood at the foot of the casket. She refused to let go of the casket or be seated.

She rocked back and forth, sobbing, and appeared as if she would collapse.

As the Rev. Jermaine Reed sang "Jesus Loves Me," he came forward and stood by Glover's side. He placed his arms around her and held her up. Eventually, with loud cries, she fell to the floor.

Glover cried out "Let me go! Let me go!" as people carried her to the side of chapel. There she lay on the floor, sobbing, as other mourners tried to assist her.

The fight erupted near the end of the service, as people lined up to pass the casket in final tribute.

Several people began to taunt Thomas because of his relationship to the foster parents. He clutched the funeral program in his fists, his eyes closed.

Glover was assisted to the casket. Just as she reached it, the brawl began.

Who threw the first blow was unclear. Thomas was punched on the left side of his face. He was removed from the chapel and taken to a couch, the left side of his face severely swollen, a bloody gash beneath his left eye. Family surrounded the couch to protect him.

In the chapel, chairs were thrown aside and flower displays were knocked over. Several people grabbed the boy's casket to keep it from being flung down. Glover screamed.

As people cried out for calm, the fight spread to the funeral home lobby and into the street. The lectern with the visitor's book was knocked over. Someone reported seeing a gun, and stunned onlookers fled the building.

An ambulance arrived at the front of funeral home as the casket was carried out the back and loaded into a hearse.

The hearse hurriedly pulled away toward Graceland Cemetery, followed by a small group of cars. In an area of the cemetery designated Baby Land, a quick graveside service was held at a plot donated to the family by the county.

Most of the handful of people at the graveside appeared to be family and friends of Glover, the boy's mother.

Clutching several stuffed animals to her chest, she appeared too distraught to leave the back seat of her car.

Glover's family said they did not have enough money to rent a place to gather after the funeral.

It was a cold day. They stood in the cemetery near old cars and grieved.

2008 Nov 19