With his head barely visible above a church pulpit, 13-year-old James Betancourt stood in front of 300 friends, relatives and church members Monday to talk about his younger brother, Alex.
"You can never forget him," said James, sniffling and resting his head in one hand. "When we went to the beach, he would jump over the waves and we would knock him over a bit, but he would get up with a big smile."
It was a smile that many remembered. A big grin, squinted eyes, hard-to-miss dimples.
Alex Christopher Mercado's extended family gathered Monday for the 4-year-old's memorial service at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kerman. The service came 10 days after authorities say he was sexually assaulted and killed by a 14-year-old neighbor in Mendota, a slaying that shocked and frightened but also galvanized the west- side community.
A rosary and visitation was held Sunday in Mendota at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church because his father, Luis Mercado, is Catholic. His mother, Mindy Betancourt, belongs to the Kerman church. The couple have been married for five years.
Pallbearers carry the casket of 4-year-old Alex Christopher Mercado from the hearse to the grave site where he was buried Monday at Fresno Memorial Gardens. A 14-year-old neighbor in Mendota is charged with murdering Alex, who was remembered for his smile and love of life.
Mindy Betancourt, Luis Mercado and their family are seen in happier times with their son Alex, center.
After the memorial service, many of the mourners gathered at Fresno Memorial Gardens to bury Alex. Some wore shirts with a picture of Alex and the words "Forever in my heart." For about an hour, friends and relatives tossed white roses and handfuls of sand on the casket as they filed past. They hugged Alex's siblings and parents.
When Alex's white casket was lowered into the ground, his parents cried openly.
Earlier at the memorial service, friends and family members told stories about Alex. They remembered the boy who used to play in the dirt so often that his mother once ran out of spoons -- they had all been used to build dirt mounds.
When his siblings would wrestle, Alex would stand on chairs and jump on his brothers.
"Some may have looked at him as being a mischievous boy, but he was just a boy who wanted to have fun," said his aunt, Valerie Betancourt.
His preschool teacher, Mercedes Martinez, said Alex took center stage whenever she turned on music.
"He loved to dance," she said. "So much so, that the kids knew that when the music started, you didn't go to the middle -- Alex did."
He also loved to sing.
"He was the best singer in the universe," said Lisa Blevins, a member of the Kerman church and a family friend. "And he would sit there and sing and sing and sing, even when there was no music."
As the mourners sang Alex's favorite hymn, "I Am a Child of God," some were moved to tears.
"His heart extended to many," Valerie Betancourt said during the memorial service. "His life was taken too soon, and all we have are the bittersweet memories."
Alex's accused killer, Raul Renato Castro, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Fresno County Superior Court. He has been charged with murder and will be tried as an adult.
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