BOSTON (AP) -- Family members chose to remember the good side of a Massachusetts man who fatally stabbed two of his sisters, describing him as a "great big brother" before burying all three side-by-side on Saturday.
Mourners packed the Jubilee Christian Church in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood, where the coffins of 5-year-old Bianca Revelus and 17-year-old Samantha Revelus were displayed with the coffin of Kerby Revelus, who was killed by police as he attacked a third sister.
In a funeral program, the family described the 23-year-old as a doting brother to baby Bianca, showering her with hugs and kisses and listening to her tell stories as she sat on his lap.
"When Bianca would fall and cry he was the first one by her side and protecting her from harm's way," the program said. "Bianca was his world. And for Kerby being a great big brother to Bianca was easy."
There were songs in Creole, prayers in French and pleas from ministers to family members to "stay strong."
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But throughout the service, mourners kept yelling, "Why?" Others just shook their heads and cried.
A surviving sister, Jessica Revelus, 21, told the emotional crowd she and her brother "had our differences." But she added that he was her only brother.
She then addressed her parents, Regine and Vronze Revelus, saying, "Mom, Dad, I love you."
After she spoke, several woman began wailing and had to leave the service.
Samantha and Bianca Revelus were killed at their Milton home last Saturday. As police burst into the apartment, they saw Kerby Revelus decapitating Bianca. Police shot him as he tried to attack another sister, 9-year-old Sarafina.
Ernst Guerrier, a Boston attorney and family friend, has said the siblings' parents are "in shock and disbelief" and have no explanation why their son would kill his sisters.
Kerby Revelus was charged with assault and battery twice in 2004, after allegedly punching Jessica and getting into a fight with other teenagers. But his criminal record shows nothing close to the brutal violence that left his sisters dead.
"Though he may have had his triumphs and hardships he still found his way to being a wonderful person and often times referred to the Lord as his strength," the funeral program said.
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After the church service, the three later were buried side-by-side at Milton Cemetery.
The funeral service began with soft music as childhood pictures of the siblings were shown on a screen behind three coffins.
The Bethel Youth Choir sang a song dedicated to Samantha, a senior with a 3.6 GPA at Milton High School. A Milton teacher also read a poem from an anonymous classmate to Samantha that honored the late-student's "smile." Samantha was an active member of the school's poetry club.
In a closing prayer, the Rev. Soliny Vedrine addressed the family, telling them, "We want you to know that we love you. Lay your burden on the feet of Jesus."
The program given out at the service also displayed childhood photos of the siblings.
In the back, their parents left a poem to their three children that read, "You are now in Heaven, and, oh, we're sure the place is grand. No one could ever tell us all the beauties of the land."
