The Dead Among Us

Courtesy of the Saintil family

Ghislene Richmond says her son Markey Saintil Jr. (left) enjoyed downloading music and playing basketball with his cousins.

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More About

• Jay Boutwell
• Pablo Amador
• North Miami Beach
• New York Crime
• Murder and Homicide

The worst one he ever dealt with happened ten years ago, Boutwell says. "A three-year-old kid was accidentally shot by his five-year-old brother in the back seat of their parents' car," he remembers. "Dad was a corrections officer who had left his gun under the seat. I had to prepare the baby for the viewing and help the family get through their guilt."

Boutwell says tragic events like that one still have a profound effect on him. "My way of dealing with it is to look at the body as a shell of the person," he says. "Their soul is gone. The essence of the person is no longer there. My main concern is to make what remains resemble what they looked like in life so the family can have an easier time dealing with the fact that their loved one is gone."