It was a rainy afternoon Friday, May 4 when Marcus Fiesel was laid to rest in a small coffin after a brief funeral attended by a small crowd of family and friends at the Baker-Stevens Funeral Home in Middletown.

Fiesel, 3, died last year when his foster parents Dave and Liz Carroll allegedly left him bound inside a closet when they left town for the weekend.

During the visitation, a family friend addressed the media, offering her hope that Marcus’ death would mark an end to child abuse and neglect for other children.

“We just pray that, from here on out, something happens to assist, because there are a whole lot of kids in homes like this,” said Terry Cadolt. “We loved him dearly. Donna (Marcus’ mother) can’t hardly go on. We want to thank everyone for coming out to the funeral. He was just like one of our own, this is heartbreaking.”