JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Lonzie Barton, the child victim at the center of a murder case involving his mother and her boyfriend, was laid to rest Tuesday, according to Ferreira Funeral Services.
The burial involved just immediate family because Barton's loved ones wanted to the ceremony to stay quiet, Ann Dugger of the Justice Coalition said.
The private service did not take place at the funeral home.
Lonna and Chris Barton were both let out of prison to attend the services, according to Sheriff Joey Dobson of the Baker County Sheriff's Office.
Both will be transferred from Baker County Jail to the Department of Corrections' custody on Thursday, Sheriff Dobson said.
Police reports suggest Ruben Ebron repeatedly stymied investigators in the days following the toddler's July 24 disappearance by steering their search to several different parts of town. But at one point on July 24, Ebron took police to where Interstate 95 and Philips Highway meet -- just five miles from where remains believed to be Barton's were eventually found Jan. 11.
Both Ebron and the child's mother, Lonna Barton, were arrested on charges of child neglect and giving false information to law enforcement. Barton later accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Ebron.
Lonzie Barton, Ebron later told police, died in the bathtub at an apartment he shared with the toddler's mother while the couple had sex July 24. In a panic, Ebron acknowledged, he disposed of the child's body off Snyder Street.
Ebron pleaded guilty Feb. 5 to charges of aggravated manslaughter, child neglect, evidence tampering, and giving false information to law enforcement as part of a plea deal that carries a 20-year prison sentence.