It's been a heartbreaking few days for family, friends and neighbors. They didn't want to concentrate on the arrest of Travis Mullis Friday. They gathered to remember the little boy they called an angel.
On Saturday afternoon, about a dozen people gathered at a church for a memorial service. It was small. It was emotional.
Alijah's mother, Caren Kohberger, was there. Kohberger's mother and sister were also there, as well as a handful of neighbors.
Travis Mullis is in jail in Philadelphia, charged with capital murder. But neighbors say what they want to remember is the beauty of the little boy.
"He touched my heart for a very short time," said neighbor Carol Montgomery. "I just moved to the community shortly before and how he touched my live when I saw him. Hopefully justice will now be served."
Neighbors say on a normal weekend night, they would build a bonfire and all the kids would gather around to roast marshmallows. Saturday at that bonfire, they tried to remember the life cut way too short.
Investigators from Galveston will head to Philadelphia as early as Sunday.
