Child's Memorial Removed From Northampton Park, Sparks Outrage

NORTHAMPTON, PA — A family planned to celebrate the birthday of their beloved son, who passed away unexpectedly in 2019, at a memorial that had been set up for him at a Northampton Township park.

When they arrived at the park on his birthday, however, the memorial was gone. Jennifer Murphy said in a public Facebook post that families were uncomfortable explaining the meaning of the memorial to other children.

"My faith in humanity over the past few years has really been a rollercoaster ride," Murphy wrote. "We've encountered both real life monsters who have destroyed us and heroes that have helped hold us up with their love and generosity."

Patch has reached out to Northampton Township for comment. The township has not publicly commented on the incident.

Murphy's son died days after his first birthday in 2019. Northampton Township Municipal Park, where the memorial had once been, was one of Christian's favorite places, his mother said.

The Murphys said that the worst part was, they were never notified about the sign's removal. The memorial was not a random creation; "we had spent a year going through the process with the township designing, creating, installing, and funding the sign," she added.

Hundreds of comments in support of the Murphys appeared under the Facebook post and elsewhere on social media, expressing outrage and demanding the memorial be returned. Christian's father, Kevin Tyler Murphy, shared in a separate social media post that a Northampton Township Supervisor had called them said that "only a few people complained," and that the matter had not been voted on by the Parks and Recreation committee.

Kevin added that the township offered to reinstall it, but the Murphys said that they would prefer to have it at Christian's daycare instead.

"We definitely don't want our son's sign anywhere near that park any more," he said.