A trail of tears

Hundreds of mourners bid aloha to slain toddler

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The frame of a small boy in an open casket greeted hundreds of visitors yesterday at Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary.

They came to say goodbye to Cyrus Belt, whose violent and all-too-public death last week touched so many hearts in Hawaii.

"I cannot believe that's him," said Tanya Tafu, a mother of three children, including a newborn. "I used to watch him. He was a happy kid."

More than 200 people stayed for the service, filling pews, standing outside or sitting on folding chairs flanking the chapel.

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Family, friends and strangers searched for closure yesterday in the death of toddler Cyrus Nainoa Tupai Belt, who was thrown to his death last week from an H-1 freeway overpass.

Hundreds streamed into Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary, West Chapel, saying goodbye to the 23-month-old.

But he will not soon be forgotten.

Linda Kalopodes of Makiki visits daily an impromptu memorial for Cyrus on the Miller Street pedestrian overpass, from where he was thrown.

"I just feel a kindred spirit with this child," she said outside the chapel. "There's a spiritual connection. Everybody loves him, and I know I'll never forget him."

Matthew Higa, 23, is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly throwing Belt off the pedestrian walkway Jan. 17. Higa, who lives upstairs from the boy's family, is being held on $1 million bail.

At the chapel, a line flowed out the front door as people waited to view Belt in a small, white open casket. Most paused a few moments in front of Belt before walking away in tears.

"I cannot believe that's him," said Tanya Tafu, a mother of three children, including a newborn. "I used to watch him. He was a happy kid."

More than 200 people stayed for the service, filling pews, standing outside or sitting on folding chairs flanking the chapel.

Belt's mother, Nancy Asiata Chanco, was in tears after the service.

Three firefighters who first responded to the call that day also attended.

Engine 6 Capt. Greg Ikeda said the psychological stress from witnessing Belt's "senseless" death did not hit him until a few days afterward when Belt's story constantly appeared in the news media.

"It replays over and over," he said. "Watching the news, this is one of the times I could not hold back the tears."

"We just felt like coming to the service," he said. "It would help us emotionally."

Belt's grandfather Lilo Asiata said, "I really can't express how overwhelming it is, the love and support. This is more than I expected."

Belt's father, David Belt, who has been in prison for the past year, was granted a temporary release to attend. He was escorted to the chapel before the service began, Asiata said. He took the death hard.

"I feel his pain because he came all the way here to visit his dead son," Asiata said.

Shar Ah Yun, a hanai grandmother of Cyrus Belt who also lived with the family at times, said she was happy to see Belt one last time.

"He was my grandson," she said, tearing up.

She worried about Nancy Chanco after the state released Child Welfare Services records that raised questions about her parenting skills and drug use.

"Nancy was a good mother. She overcompensated. There were times that she wasn't here and we took care of him," Ah Yun said. "Never was he neglected."

A committal service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Hawaiian Memorial Park.

At the memorial on the Miller Street overpass, people continued to drop off items in memory of Belt, including hundreds of stuffed animals, dozens of balloons, letters and flowers.

Stacey Norris, a former Army staff sergeant, took it upon herself yesterday to gather up the stuffed animals for children and injured soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Norris, 27, a health-care technician, met Lilo Asiata the night before while visiting the memorial. She offered to mail, at her expense, the stuffed animals, many of which were soaked by rain and would not be accepted as donations.

She and two friends bagged up the items yesterday and planned to wash them before sending them overseas.

"This will give them a little comfort," she said. "This is the family's wishes."