LYNN — A week after teenager Daniel Marquez Santeliz, of Lynn, was fatally stabbed, his mother is seeking community support to pay for his burial.
As of Monday, more than $5,000 had been raised through a GoFundMe page to give the 17-year-old a proper burial.
“I still haven’t been able to recover from the pain of knowing that my young and vibrant son has left this world,” Karelis Santeliz, Daniel Marquez Santeliz’s mother, wrote in a message on GoFundMe. “It’s very hard to accept this reality, but it’s even harder to accept that another human being took his life.”
Karelis Santeliz, who is from Venezuela and has lived in Massachusetts for five years, said that her son was a senior in high school and would have turned 18 years old next month.
“My son Daniel was the only thing that kept me motivated to fight in this country, and he gave me the strength to wake up every day with my best smile,” Karelis Santeliz said. “I not only find myself terribly devastated by this loss, but I also don’t have the necessary resources to give my son Daniel a proper burial.”
Iram Allen Jr., 15, of Lynn, is being held without bail after being charged with murder for allegedly stabbing Daniel Marquez Santeliz at Alpha Convenience Store on Freeman Square last Tuesday.
