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Vigil held for 4-year-old found dead at vacant Longmead Avenue home

Today would have been Eliazar's fifth birthday.

CLEVELAND -- A vigil was held Tuesday evening for 4-year-old Eliazar Ruiz, whose remains were found inside a bag outside a vacant Longmead Avenue home last year.

Police spent weeks trying to identify the remains, which were left outside a garage.

Eliazar's mother, Ashley Makuhan, is serving an 18-month prison sentence. She said she saw a police sketch of her son on TV and recognized him. Investigators matched Eliazar's DNA to positively identify him.

Makuhan says she left her son in the care of a friend prior to starting her prison sentence. More than a year and a half passed without hearing from that friend, but Makuhan says she trusted her.

Makuhan has refused to identify the friend and told WKYC she does not believe her friend is capable of committing murder, but "accidents happen.'

MORE | Mom of boy found on Longmead: 'She has to pay for this'

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