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GRAFTON - Hundreds of Cody Reetz's family, friends, and classmates gathered at a candlelight vigil and memorial service to honor his short life.

The 14-year-old boy with an infectious smile was murdered by his own stepfather.

"Everybody's going to miss him," Cody's friend Brandon Beling said.

Wearing pins of Cody on their hearts, and carrying his picture, Cody's grieving parents led hundreds of his family, friends, and classmates down a candlelit path toward the memorial service in his honor.

"It's amazing, the community here. It's just amazing how much they've come together for Cody. It's wonderful," Cody's mom Trista Avey said.
 
Weaving through downtown Grafton to a park on the river, the group said prayers and gave thanks for Cody's life.
 
"I just want to say what a great friend he is. He had a smile that just like made you smile back and he was just a nice kid. He didn't deserve anything that happened to him," his friend Cody Dejewski said.
 
Wearing t-shirts they made in honor of Cody, his friends said this is what he would have wanted.
 
"If he were here to see it I would know that he would like it," Beling said.
 
Candles in hand, Cody's family and friends each lit a bag with a candle inside, spelling out his name. The service ended with a balloon release, lifting his memory toward the sky, where his father said he is waiting for them in heaven.
 
"The kids have helped us get through this," Allen Reetz said. "Cody is in good hands now."
 
Cody's step-father Charles Avey was charged with killing Cody on Sunday afternoon. He told police he killed his step-son to get back at his wife, who was at the Grafton Police Department reporting him for domestic abuse. Avey's bail was set at $750,000.