WEST YELLOWSTONE — A grieving community still reeling after the death of 12-year old James Alex Hurley, who was found dead in the living room of his West Yellowstone home, gathered together Sunday evening.
“I want him to be remembered as a light in our community and a child that life was taken too short,” said Missy Finney, a resident of West Yellowstone who knew Hurley and his family.
The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Hurley’s grandparents and 14-year old uncle earlier this month.
According to court documents, they now face charges of deliberate homicide and deliberate homicide by accountability.
But Sunday night was a night for remembrance and coming together as a community.
"Today was a day where we came together and tried to help each other see hope and the brightness of the future that will come,” said West Yellowstone Police Chief Scott Newell.
The police chief as well as other members of the community read poems, sang songs and lead prayers.
Some speakers spoke about their frustration, about how something like this could happen in the community.
“We all experience a range of emotions from grief, to anger, back to grief to crying, and then frustration. Hopefully we see the light through this,” said Newell.
“It’s a very tight knit community. When something like this happens everybody gets together and we all reach out and we try and bring everybody together,” said Finney.
