by Jeffrey Gautreaux - Sun Staff Writer
'They rest in the Lord's hands'
Hundreds turn out for funerals of five victims of June 24 murders at Yuma home
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Danny Heredia Jr. (right, front) and other pallbearers carry the coffin of Heredia's son, Danny Heredia III, following a funeral Mass Friday morning at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church for five of the victims of a homicide, June 24 in Yuma. Photos by Jacob Lopez - The Sun |
 Dora Velazquez sobs outside Immaculate Conception Catholic Church after the funeral Mass for her daughter, Adrienne Bedoya-Heredia, and four grandchildren: Andreas Crawford, 13; Enrique Bedoya, 12; Inez Newman, 9; and Danny Heredia III, 6. Bedoya-Heredia and her children were found murdered in their home on East La Mesa Street. |
During his Eulogy Friday for five victims of the June 24 murders in Yuma, the Rev. Tom Phillips of St. Paul's Episcopal Church asked a question that many in Yuma have asked since that night: Where was God? Phillips said God is no stranger to the pain and suffering that was felt by Adrienne Bedoya-Heredia, 30 and her four children: Andreas Crawford, 13; Enrique Bedoya, 12; Inez Newman, 9; and Danny Heredia III, 6. "God was in their bodies," Phillips said. "It was God who felt the searing pain, the anguish. It's also God who said it's not finished. We, by God's grace, will not be overcome by evil, but by that same grace we shall overcome with good." Hundreds of mourners, many who were forced to stand becasue of the overflow crowd, packed into Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on Friday |
morning for the funeral. The five were murdered in their home at 2037 E. La Mesa Street in an incident that shocked the city. Heredia's boyfriend, Luis Rios, 35, was also killed. No arrests have been made in connection to the deaths. "Your presence in great numbers is a source of great strength and a source of great courage for the family," Monsignor Richard O'Keeffe said to those in attendance. "It is certainly uplifting." Scores of people drove out to Desert Lawn after the funeral for a graveside service. Phillips offered a benediction for each victim as loud sobs could be heard. Then everyone stood in silence as "One Sweet Day," a song by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey was played. Friends and family hugged and cried as tears mingled with sweat under the scorching summer sun. The burial of the caskets was a private ceremony. |
LAID TO REST Adrienne I. Bedoya-Heredia Born: April 8, 1976 Died: June 24, 2005 Andreas M. Crawford Born: Sept 3, 1991 Died: June 24, 2005 Enrique C. Bedoya Born: Sept 30, 1992 Died: June 24, 2005 Inez L. Newman Born: Jan 19, 1996 Died: June 24, 2005 Danny L. Heredia III Born: May 6, 1999 Died: June 24, 2005  |
 Five Hearses carrying the bodies of Adrienne Bedoya-Heredia and her four children: Andreas, Enrique, Inez and Danny III, travel Friday from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church to Desert Lawn where graveside and private burial services were held. |
Poem included in funeral program: We'd like the memory of us to be a happy one. We'd like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done. We'd like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways, Of happy times, laughing times and bright and sunny days. We'd like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun. And remember happy memories that we leave when life is done. -------Author Unknown |
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