NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A memorial service was held Thursday for a boy found dead in the trunk of his mother’s car 11 years after he disappeared.

In 2015, troopers discovered the body of Tonya Slaton’s son, Quincy Jamar Davis, after pulling her over.

“It’s almost like a double edged sword. You’re sad that it’s come to this, but at the same time what he’s gone through and this whole process finally getting laid to rest, it’s a joyous occasion,” said Davis’ uncle, Rodney Martin. 

Officials say Quincy Davis was just 14 or 15 years old when he died.

The case recently closed after Slaton was sentenced to eight years in prison, after she had pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge. Davis’s cause of death remains undetermined to this day.

Now, nearly 14 years later, the case is officially closed, and his family is finally getting to say goodbye.

“To lay him to rest, yes, it has finally given us some closure,” explained Martin. 

This is the first memorial organized by The Hampton Victim Services Unit, and the director says it couldn’t have come at a better time.
 
“We wanted to do something to honor his memory, and we wanted to do it during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, which is also child abuse month,” said Carla Reeves, the director of the victim services unit for the City of Hampton.
 
The family says Davis lived a short life, but made a big impact.
 
“You ever been somewhere in just a room full of people and somebody walks in and everybody wants to know who that is? That’s Quincy,” Martin said.
 
A few of his seventh-grade teachers say they’ll never forget him.
 
“He was always very outgoing, always smiling, laughing, lots of energy and very respectful, polite, well-dressed, but the biggest thing we always remembered about him was his smile, it was huge,“ explained Nancy Horner, Davis’ seventh-grade English teacher. 
 
Horner says it brought her peace to be able to say goodbye.
 
Hampton’s Commonwealth’s Attorney says this case touched more people than the family could ever imagine.
 
“The truth of the matter is it’s really healing for the community,“ said Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney Anton Bell. 
 
The family says they want Davis’ life to be a reminder to step in when you see signs of child abuse.
 
“If you suspect or see anything … any kind of wrongdoings, especially towards children … just speak up you’d rather be safe than sorry,” Martin said.