Unidentified boy found in suitcase in Indiana laid to rest

SALEM, Ind. (AP) — A young boy found dead inside a suitcase in a heavily wooded area of southern Indiana has been laid to rest.

Todd Murphy, the chaplain for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, called the unidentified boy an “unknown angel” during a memorial service Wednesday at the Weathers Funeral Home in Salem, Indiana.

The child’s gray casket was topped by a floral arrangement and stuffed animals. He was later buried at a Salem cemetery.

His gravestone marker bears the image of an angel and an inscription that reads, “In loving memory of a beloved little boy known but to God.”

A mushroom hunter found the child’s body on April 16 in Washington County.

Investigators believe the boy, who was Black, was about 5 years old and had died within the previous week. His death was attributed to an electrolyte imbalance.