The death of Indian teenager Jonathan Marques has led to an outpouring of grief from the people in London, as his family plans to fly his body to Goa for funeral, where he had always longed to return when alive.
"The family are really devastated. They cannot stop crying and weeping. Jonathan's mother is so upset she cannot even look at his photo," Evan Correia, a family friend said.
"They are waiting for the body to be released so they can take him to Goa. The family know Jonathan wanted to go back there so it seems appropriate that they fulfill his wish."
Marques, who grew up in Goa, moved to Britain three years ago and was residing in Reading here with his parents. He always wanted to return back to India. His family said it was only right that his body be taken back to his village for the last rites.
There has been a spontaneous outpouring of grief as the police identified the body fished out of a Reading pond on Monday. Many residents, not only those of Indian origin, had joined the public campaign to help locate him.
A memorial mass will be held in Reading when they return from India. Marques was missing since January 6, and the cause of his death is yet been determined.
{{/usCountry}}A memorial mass will be held in Reading when they return from India. Marques was missing since January 6, and the cause of his death is yet been determined.
{{/usCountry}}Parents, staff and pupils from Blessed Hugh Faringdon School, where Marques was a pupil, gather often at the pond where his body was found, to say prayers and pay tribute to the 15-year-old.
The Thames Valley police had earlier announced that the body recovered from the Fobney Lock lake in Reading on Monday was that of the missing Indian teenager Jonathan Marques.