Family Says Goodbye To Children Killed In House Fire
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4)- Timothy and Alivia Ramirez were happy children full of life. On Friday afternoon their family members had the tough task of burying the brother and sister.
Timothy, also called "TJ" by family, 3, and Alivia, 2, died after flames engulfed their home early Sunday morning. Timothy died a few hours later, Alivia followed her brother on Tuesday.
"I'm still numb from the whole incident. I just buried my children," said their father Michael Ramirez. "It's hard. I can't even explain, start to imagine what I could say."
Ramirez remembers TJ as a rambunctious Energizer bunny, and Alivia as wearing pink and always happy.
Their mother, Danielle Brockman, is facing two counts of child abuse knowingly and recklessly causing death. Police believe she left the children alone when the home caught fire. What caused the fire is still being investigated.
Brockman, 23, was not at Friday's funeral. She remains in jail on $250,000 bond.
More than 300 people attended the funeral services for the siblings at St. John The Baptiste Church in Longmont. Family and friends wore pink and blue ribbons as a tribute to the children.
Ramirez said he tried to spend the day remembering happier times and said goodbye with a final piece of fatherly advice.
"I talked to both of them like they were still there. I told TJ to watch after his sister. I told Alivia to please don't let her brother get into too much trouble," said Ramirez.
Ramirez said he had been separated from his children since he moved to Georgia three months ago but was in the process of seeking full custody.
"At the funeral we released some balloons, some blue ones and some pink ones, and for some reason, a blue one just took off and a little pink one followed and I'm like, 'See, there goes TJ, he's taking off already and his little sister is chasing after him," said Ramirez.
