Saying farewell to little boy murdered by his father; rest in peace

Funeral held for dismembered murder victim

wwltv.com

Posted on August 23, 2011 at 5:38 PM

Katie Moore / Eyewitness News
THIBODAUX, La - Friends and loved ones gathered in Thibodaux Tuesday to say their final goodbyes to 7-year-old Jori Lirette.
He was laid to rest at a local cemetery. It's a small bit of closure for his family, meanwhile the murder case against his father is about get underway.
"It's an amazing poem. It's like he's speaking to you in it," said Courtney Leblanc, Lirette’s Aunt.
She read a poem in the funeral mass for her nephew.
“Don't cry for me. I'll be alright. It's beautiful here. The colors are so bright. I can run and jump and I love to play,” Leblanc read.
Hundreds heard those words first-hand at St. Genevieve Catholic Church in Thibodaux.
“I had a hard time last night and it's gonna be even harder today,” Leblanc said.
Family members held an open-casket wake on Monday, with many passing through to pay their respects.
Lirette had cerebral palsy, was confined to a wheelchair and couldn't speak.
“Even if people are confined to wheelchairs, everybody loves their life. Nobody should take a life. It's wrong,” said Lirette’s Grandfather, Dale Lirette.
“They certainly are grieving. I think one of the things that I had read about grief, it's that when you lose a child, that's the hardest grief,” said Father Dean Danos, Priest at St. Genevieve. Family members said both at the wake and at the funeral, they surrounded Jori Lirette with bright-colored flowers and stuffed animals because he loved everything that was bright and vivid. “He loved all kind of animals too. He loved horses,” Lirette’s Grandfather said.
“He didn't deserve it. He loved everybody. And he didn't deserve to go that way. He deserved something better. A lot better,” said Leblanc.
Lirette's father, 30-year-old Jeremiah Wright, now sits behind bars, accused of killing and dismembering his son. “I wish that he could see what he did and see the people that he hurt,” Dale Lirette said.
Thibodaux's Police Chief said Tuesday that they're preparing the case against Wright for the District Attorney to take to the grand jury as early as Friday.
Meantime, family members tried to find peace as they laid Jori down one final time.
Wright was originally booked on a First degree murder charge. But the Lafourche Parish DA hasn't said whether he'll seek the death penalty.