Family of slain 3-year-old boy spends Easter Sunday bracing for his funeral
BATON ROUGE- Tye and Cathy Toliver are continuing to deal with a wide range of emotions since the loss of their son and grandson Devin Page Jr.
Tye Toliver, Devin's mom, says she has been doing better recently and trying to keep herself busy. But the night that her son was shot in her house while asleep is something she replays in her mind every day.
The image she saw when she rushed into the room where she would find her son shot, laying next to her one-year-old daughter, is something that she wishes she could shut off.
"To see my daughter covered in my sons, stuff, that's just something that I don't wish on anyone to see," Toliver said.
Toliver believes that Devin acted as a protector that night for his sister Deiyauna Page.
Toliver says she has gotten through the first "hurdle" of dealing with her tragic loss. But she knows the hardest part is still to come at Devin's funeral.
"We're preparing ourselves and getting ready to say our goodbyes, and that's just something that I'm not ready for," Toliver said.
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Toliver says she has been trying to be strong. But on that day, she says the love she has for her son will be on full display. She also wants the funeral to be a celebration.
"I didn't want it to be sad because there was nothing sad about my son. He was just filled with life. He was happy," Toliver said.
Both Tye and Cathy Toliver are thankful for the support they have received. Tye also was gifted a chain with Devin's face on it as a way to remember him. They are both hoping Devin's death is not in vain.
"This baby right here, Tye's son is a drawing tool that is causing the people to come together," Cathy Toliver, Devin's grandmother said.
But what Toliver wants is justice for her son and is hoping the killer is caught. She also wants people who know something about the situation to speak up.
"Someone knows something. People are talking. Someone just talk, say something. My son was innocent. He was just a baby," Tye Toliver said.
She also wants to remind people of the stain gun violence can leave on everyone.
"If you have beef with anybody or have an issue or a problem with anybody, go to that person and deal with that person directly. Don't just be out here shooting and just shooting at the air because bullets don't have any names on it, and bullets fly everywhere, and it just so happens that one of them hit my son," Toliver said.
She says that change needs to happen and soon. Otherwise, more people will continue to be affected.
"It was my son today. It's going to be somebody else's child tonight if we don't continue to do something and have everybody come together and just try to love on each other," Toliver said.
The family is planning to pray in front of the house Devin Page Jr. was shot and killed to try to advocate against gun violence.