BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WAVY) – The family of a man killed last month in Gloucester County say they will find strength in each other at his funeral and memorial service Friday in Coney Island.
Kayron Long, 36, was shot to death Feb. 10 at a home on Back Creek Road he had shared with Winfrey Henry, 24 and Edward Hodges, 33.
Henry is charged with second degree murder and Hodges is charged with accessory after the fact and concealing Long’s body. The next court date for Henry and Hodges is May 11.
Long was the second oldest of eight children in a tight-knit family.
“We all grew up together. These were our first best friends. He was just amazing,” said Long’s sister, Niree Pough, Thursday afternoon.
Henry and Edwards reportedly convinced Long to move back in in February, after he had left the home. Long was killed shortly after he returned.
“I can totally see anyone wanting him to come back and be their roommate,” Kiven Pough said about his brother. “He’s the most giving person in the world.”
Friday, Long will be celebrated, remembered and buried. It will be a tough day for his siblings, who said they could always count on him.
“He’s just everything that you look for in a big brother, especially someone that you look up to and someone who can protect you or provide for you or give you advice on something,” said sister Kenya Pough.
Kiven Pough remembers the moment he learned of his brother’s death.
“It’s just like a moment where everything stops, and nothing around you matters,” he said. “You just focus on hoping it’s not true.”
The Sheriff’s Department said Long’s body was found buried in a rural area off Carmine’s Island Road, 14 miles from the home he shared with Henry and Hodges. It was an area where Hodges was known to do landscaping work.
Based on a hearing last week when Henry was denied Bond, the motive seems to be robbery, according to the Commonwealth.
Long grew up in Brooklyn, but had a fiancée and son living in Gloucester, as well as two daughters.
“Right now they’re one of our biggest priorities, just that they understand that they’re loved and that they still have family here to support and love them just as much as he did,” said Kayla Pough regarding her nephew and two nieces.
His siblings say they’ll remember him fondly at Friday’s funeral and memorial service – through their tears.
“Strength is in numbers,” Niree Pough said. “We have to stick together and that’s what we plan to do. The same thing once the trial starts, because that’s gonna be the hurt all over again.”
Said Kenya Pough: “Tomorrow is gonna be very heartbreaking and I don’t expect it to be easy at all. I hope tomorrow we are strong enough to send our brother home how we need to.”
