7,500 Honor Memory of Slain Kidnap Victim at Outdoor Beaumont Funeral

The memory of kidnapping victim Anthony Michael Martinez was raised on the wings of 75 white doves Saturday during services based on faith--that the 10-year-old boy is saved in heaven and that his uncaught killer will ultimately be judged by God.

As testimony to the number of lives touched by the tragedy, an estimated 7,500 people--and a live television audience--witnessed a public funeral on the front lawn of this town’s aging Civic Center, just a few blocks from where Anthony was abducted April 4.

The evangelical Christian service was punctuated by hands elevated in prayer, music, applause and choruses of amens and alleluias, even as law enforcement personnel videotaped the crowd on the possibility that Anthony’s killer would have the gall to attend.

The hourlong service concluded with the release of a sole white dove after an emotionally drained Mayor Jan Leja recited from a poem: “My wings are small and I can’t wait, I’ll ride this dove to heaven’s gate.” Then, another 49 white doves were released from behind her, streaming above towering juniper trees into the bright blue sky.

Similarly, 25 more white doves were later released at private graveside services attended by more than 100 members of Anthony’s family and circle of friends.

Pastor John Valtierra of Potter’s House Christian Fellowship in Beaumont led the impassioned funeral that seemed to attract most of the households in this proud town of 10,000 residents--and draw other mourners from across Southern California.

Standing on a small stage above Anthony’s silver casket, adorned with a spray of yellow roses and framed by a backdrop of a huge yellow ribbon, Valtierra thanked the townsfolk for their support for the family and thanked law enforcement for its search for Anthony’s killer.

Even if police don’t find the man, Valtierra said, he will be judged in time.

“He’ll never escape,” the pastor said, as Anthony’s mother and stepfather, Diane and Ernesto Medina, held on to each other in the first row in a sea of folding chairs.

“There’s a day he’ll stand before Jesus Christ. There’s a day he’ll kneel before Jesus Christ. Nobody escapes!” he boomed to the applause of the assembly.

The outdoor service in the center of town attracted a broad spectrum of people, most notably young families with small children dressed in their Sunday finest, holding hands tightly with their parents.

Some echoed the spiritual conviction of Anthony’s parents, saying they wanted to celebrate the boy’s salvation and freedom from worldly pain, and finding strength in the Medinas’ faith.

Others voiced anger at the killer--and cynicism that, in time, the media coverage and public outrage and demand for his capture will diminish.

“I don’t want three strikes. I don’t want one strike,” said Angela Hostmark, leading her own three children and two others in her care, all between the ages of 3 and 8, to the service. “I want this person caught and taken care of.”

Steve Fay, sitting with his wife and four young children--including Timothy, within two months of Anthony’s age, said: “I don’t think we will have any closure until this guy is caught. I’m afraid that, in two weeks and the cameras gone and the [wanted] posters weathered, that people will stop looking as hard.”

Law enforcement personnel Saturday said they are continuing to follow leads in the case and are awaiting results of forensic tests that might help narrow the search for Anthony’s kidnapper and killer.

Investigators have interviewed more than 100 potential suspects, said Riverside County Deputy Dist. Atty. John Davis, who was assigned to prosecute the case and attended Saturday’s service.

According to statements from several children who witnessed Anthony’s abduction, he was taken at knifepoint by a white man with a thin build between the ages of 25 and 35 who, at the time, wore a mustache. The children were playing in an alley outside Anthony’s home when he was snatched, after the man offered a dollar bill and asked for the children’s help in looking for a lost kitten.

On Saturday, the focus was not on the search for the killer, but on the religious conviction that the boy--who had professed in a letter that Jesus was his best friend--was now home with his savior.

Valtierra remarked that Anthony showed strong faith even as a child. “We were the trainers [of faith] and he was the trainee,” the pastor said. “Yet he beat us to heaven. He was our little evangelic.”

After Anthony’s family and friends left for the graveside service, the remaining assembly concluded by singing “Amazing Grace” a cappella as a train whistle blared in the distance.