Dozens of people came out Thursday afternoon to honour and remember the 17-year-old who was fatally stabbed on a Surrey, B.C., bus on April 11.
Ethan Bespflug was on his way home when an altercation took place on the bus. He died of injuries sustained on board at 100th Avenue and King George Boulevard around 9:30 p.m.
During the celebration of life Thursday, friends and family members of the young man hugged, shared memories and laid flowers.
“I hope when you leave here today that you do so with a real sense of having shared something special for a special and unique young man,” Barry Slocombe, the funeral celebrant said at the service.
Bespflug’s mother, Holly Indridson, also spoke at the celebration of life.
“I don’t have much to say,” she said. “My whole being is gone. My soul is gone. He was the most polite, kind, gentle soul. He paved the way for his brothers and sisters and set such a good example of how to live life and how you should be – helping others and helping strangers.”
Indridson said the morning of the day he died, Bespflug was teaching his younger sister how to ride a bike.
“Just be kind,” she added. “Show love.”
Indridson said it meant a lot to her to have so many people show up to the celebration of life and express how much they loved her son.
Two GoFundMe campaigns have been set up, which Indridson said will go towards her son’s funeral. She said she hopes to bury him alongside her mom.
A suspect is in custody and charged with second-degree murder for Bespflug’s death.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said officers arrested 20-year-old Kaiden Mintenko of Burnaby at a residence on Sunday. The charge was laid on Monday afternoon.
“They were known to each other through a third party,” Sgt. Timothy Pierotti said in a Monday press conference. “We can confirm this was not a random attack.”
Mintenko was known to police, he added.
— with files from Elizabeth McSheffrey