Ember Warfel: Hundreds Of Strangers Attend Funeral Of The Toddler Who Was Found Dead In A Crib
Hundreds of strangers turned up for the funeral of Ember Warfel, the baby girl whose decomposed body was found in a crib last week in Ohio, according to the Metro. Her father, Eric Warfel, was subsequently charged with a fifth-degree felony and is currently being held on a $1 million bond.
Once the gruesome incident came to light, social media was filled with outpourings of grief and anger as people mourned the loss of Ember Warfel, who would have turned two this October. In an earlier report by Inquisitr, it was confirmed that Eric Warfel decided to conceal the death of her daughter Ember, which took place in June, and placed bags of garbage in Ember’s room to mask the stench of her rotting body.
Ohio Father #EricWarfel Charged After Child's Rotting Body Found In Crib! #EndChildAbuse http://t.co/4PFtJz9xhs pic.twitter.com/oS4pmx03nE
— TheBlackWatch (@NuBlackVision) July 31, 2015
However, in what could be described as a truly heart-warming display of empathy, hundreds of strangers turned up for Ember’s funeral in Medina, Ohio. Several people, none of whom knew each other beforehand, decided to pay their last respects to Ember Warfel after organizing a vigil on Facebook.
The scenes in Medina on Sunday were reassuring to say the least. Dozens of balloons were released in Ember’s memory, hundreds of candles were lit, and the vigil was led by local pastor Rev. Tony Miles. Speaking to Periscope TV, he spoke of the need for the vigil arising from the deep anguish felt by those who came to know about incident through social and online media.
“We’re here to memorialize the ache that a lot of us felt when we read the headlines this week.”
One of the leading organizers of the event, Kimberlee Nagy Bublik, talked about the importance of people staying together through tough times such as these.
“Everybody wants to blame and point fingers, but the reaction people should have is the opposite. We should be bringing the community together to mourn this little girl. None of us knew the family. This is just what a community does. We support each other.”
There is a fair amount of truth to be gauged in Kimberlee’s statement. Though the vigil will never be able to account for Eric Warfel’s inhuman behavior toward his own daughter, it will go some way in alleviating the pain we have all felt since we came to know of Ember’s untimely demise. For the peace of Ember Warfel, our energies must be directed not at pointing fingers, but staying together when we most need each other.
[Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
