For just a moment, Gloria Velasco stared in disbelief at the shiny baby-blue coffin that held her nine year-old son. Her gentle weeping was suddenly rendered inaudible as she raised her head and declared she wanted to speak.

Her son, Josue Contreras-Velasco, died too soon.

"He had the right to live," she said Tuesday. "He was a happy kid, always joyful."

The boy's life ended July 22 when his sister and a close family friend caring for Josue took him to the Melting Pot, a downtown Salt Lake City restaurant where the pair worked. It was there that prosecutors allege they put the boy in a garbage can filled with ice water for 45 minutes, causing hypothermia which led to his death.

"I urge parents to not trust everyone with their children," the mother said. "It might seem that people are good, but from the inside they are different."

Pedro Gaucin-Canales, a kitchen manager and Rebecca Hernandez-Velasco, daughter of Velasco and a prep-chef in the restaurant, were the only two at the Melting Pot that morning besides the boy, police say. Gaucin-Canales had Josue remove his clothing before putting him in a garbage can which his sister Hernandez-Velasco filled with ice water as part of a "disciplinary measure," according to the criminal charges.

The pair, who are charged with first-degree felony murder, made their first appearance in court Tuesday.

Paramedics and police arrived on the scene to find the boy on the floor where Gaucin-Canaler had placed him when he became unresponsive. His body temperature taken by paramedics, was 76 degrees. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The horrors of Josue's untimely death haunted those in attendance. When a group of missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sang the hymn, "God Be With You 'til We Meet Again," it brought tears and confused faces full of grief to those gathered around the crowded plot that would hold the body of their son, brother, nephew, cousin, friend and student. Many were moved to softly sing along.

"I would never have imagined that he would have died this way," said Miguel Leon, a cousin of the boy. "I don't believe it."

Many described the would be fifth-grader as a loving boy who was almost too trusting.

"Josue was a child that everyone at the school knew," said Pam Sorensen, a counselor at Lincoln Elementary where he had been a student. "Everybody knew him because he was so cute and happy."

In spite of her son's untimely death and the pain of not understanding what police claim her daughter did, Gloria Velasco stood resilient in the hot sun, surrounded by family, her white handkerchief soaked with tears.

"I know that one day we will be together again," she said. "I can't accept that he left, but I have to — because he is not coming back."

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E-mail: nhale@desnews.com