Several hundred people gathered Wednesday morning to say goodbye to a 3-year-old boy who police say was beaten to death by his godmother and her boyfriend.

Kyle Smith, who died two weeks ago, had been living with his godmother and her boyfriend since August. Many family members say they trusted the little boy?s caretakers.

?You never expect anything is going to happen like that to a child,? says Eulalia Stack, a family friend.

Smith?s biological mother clutched a photo of her son as she walked out of Our Lady of Good Council Church in Manhattan?s Upper East Side. Family members say the events leading up to the funeral have been a nightmare.

After the church ceremony, family and loved ones will travel to Queens for the burial.

Wake held for 3-year-old boy beaten to death