Nearly five months after he was beaten to death and dumped into the Des Plaines River, a funeral was held Friday for the little toddler who loved to smile and dance, Bryeon Hunter.

His mother, Lakeshia Baker, and her boyfriend, Michael Scott, are charged with beating Hunter with a belt and plastic hangers on April 15th. They’re accused of leaving him to die on the bathroom floor of their apartment in Maywood. Then, they allegedly dumped his body in the river.

A man who runs a K-9 training center spent several weeks searching the river, and found Hunter on May 14th near the Brookfield Zoo. It took roughly four months for DNA tests to confirm the body was indeed Hunter’s.

The man who discovered Hunter, Rob Larson, spoke to the mourners at the New Beginnings Church at 66th and Kind Drive.

“Very hard for me to speak about this. I got very attached to Bryeon. I took Bryeon in as my own son. I’m trying to look at this as a good day, for Bryeon to move on to a much better place,” said Larson.

WGN News Writer C. Hayes published this story.