As crowds gathered to honour the memory of Elijah on Saturday, his grieving mother spoke about his death publicly for the first time, saying that her three-year-old is "warm now."
Her eyes closed, surrounded by friends and family, Georgette Marsh described young Elijah as her "strength."
"Elijah was loving, always asking if I was OK. Always kissing me, 'Mommy what’s wrong? Come, come let me give you a kiss,'" she said.
"I’m hearing it now. 'Don’t cry mommy.' There is no question about where Elijah is ... There is only one place Elijah could be right now and that is the only thing that keeps me going," she told CP24.
Elijah's grandmother, Claudette Marsh also shared her memories, describing how her grandson would sometimes offer to rub her feet when she returned home after a long day at work.
"Elijah was my world," she said. "He made my day when I came home."
Earlier, Elijah’s father told CP24 on Saturday that he was at work when a detective told him over the phone that the boy was missing.
Curt Barry said his son would have grown up to be a "bright" and "articulate" man.
He said he will need to find a way to get through the loss, for the sake of his other two sons.
“The child is gone now,” he said. “All I can do is thank God for the blessing of Elijah.”
Mourners remember Elijah
On Saturday, mourners held hands, lit candles, and sang hymns outside a makeshift memorial in Toronto, honouring three-year-old Elijah.
The memorial took place beside a snow-covered mound of teddy bears, stuffed animals, hand-drawn cards and flowers. The mementoes were placed there over the past three days by people who came from across the Greater Toronto Area to pay their respects.
Toronto Mayor John Tory was among those who held a lit candle and joined in the singing of ‘Amazing Grace,’ just before noon.
“I’m a father and a grandfather, and this kind of thing can happen to any of us,” he told reporters. “You just can’t imagine it happening to your own family.”
Elijah, 3, was found without vital signs on Thursday morning, after he wandered out of a family member’s apartment building and into -17 C weather at around 4 a.m. wearing just a T-shirt, a diaper and a pair of boots.
Dave Elines, who had volunteered to help with the search after hearing about the missing boy on the radio, found Marsh curled-up behind an air-conditioner around 10 a.m. Thursday, just 300 metres from the building.
“He looked just peaceful in the snow,” Elines recalled Friday, choking back tears.
Crowdfunding campaign tops $160,000
Meanwhile, an online crowd-funding campaign has raised more than $161,000 to help with funeral costs.
Toronto resident Justin Kozuch, launched the on fundraiser on the website Tilt.com, hoping to raise $20,000 to help pay for funeral costs. But a public outpouring of support has launched the campaign way beyond that initial goal.
"I never thought we'd get to this point,” he told CTV News Channel Saturday morning. “It's very, very humbling and so incredible to see how generous Canadians have been when it comes to this story."
Kozuch said he will leave it up to the family to decide what to do with the money left over after the funeral.
"I would love to see some sort of scholarship or bursary or some sort of educational grant be set up in the memory of this child, who has clearly touched so many people," he said.
"But ultimately, at the end of the day, I'm going to leave that decision to the family to make."
The fundraising campaign will remain open until Sunday. A Tilt.com spokesperson says the company has waived all credit card fees to support this cause, so all the money raised will go directly to the family.
Elijah’s mother Georgette Marsh thanked Canadians for their generosity in a statement that Kozuch sent to reporters on her behalf.
“I cannot thank everyone enough for their support during this difficult time. We’re so grateful for the generosity we’ve seen from Canadians, and we’re all touched by the immense outpouring of love we’ve seen these past few days,” Marsh said.
“We’re devastated by the loss of Elijah, but we’re heartwarmed to see how many people have been touched by this story. Thank you so much.”
