Funeral Set for Avonte Oquendo After Body Found in River

Weekend funeral services will be held for a 14-year-old autistic boy who disappeared from his Queens school in October and whose body was found along the East River last week.

The family's lawyer says Avonte Oquendo's funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Church of Saint Joseph in Greenwich Village.

It will be preceded by a private service at the Greenwich Village Funeral Home. Condolences may be sent through the funeral home's website

The medical examiner said Tuesday that body parts, including an arm, two legs and a skull, found last week along the East River were Avonte's. Authorities also recovered clothing that belonged to him.

Lawyer David Perecman says the family believes school officials failed to monitor Avonte and didn't call police quickly enough.

The new education chancellor, Carmen Farina, said she's heartbroken and determined to learn from what happened to Avonte. The city's law department also called the boy's death a tragedy and said it would review a lawsuit the family is planning.

Investigators have not said what they believe happened to the boy.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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