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Memorial held for teenage boy found unresponsive on side of road in New Rochelle

Police say 15-year-old Jonson Temaj was found at the corner of Charles Street and Washington Avenue.

Melanie Palmer

Feb 18, 2025, 10:05 PM

Updated yesterday

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A New Rochelle teenage boy is being remembered after he was found unresponsive on the side of the road nearly two weeks ago.
"It's so sad to hear such a young boy losing his life out here, it's really sad," says New Rochelle resident Roberto Valencia.
Police say 15-year-old Jonson Temaj was found at the corner of Charles Street and Washington Avenue during the first week of February.
They say he didn't have a shirt or shoes.
He later died at the hospital. Police haven't released how he died. At last check, officers were waiting on the toxicology report from the medical examiner's office.
Two people have been arrested for allegedly dragging his body from a nearby home and leaving him on the side of the road.
"It's heart-wrenching for anyone, with children or without children. He had so much more life to live, it's sad for the whole block," says New Rochelle resident Andrea Valente-Dempsey.
Temaj's family says he just came to the U.S. from Guatemala a couple of years ago.
"My heart breaks for those parents because they sent their child here for a better life, a better education," Valente-Dempsey tells News 12.
A memorial service was held Tuesday evening in Ossining for Temaj.