Family of 15-year-old found dead in New Rochelle wants justice, answers

Officers say they responded to a report of an unresponsive person at the intersection of Charles Street and Washington Avenue around 6:15 a.m. and found Jonson Temaj.

Melanie Palmer

Feb 6, 2025, 3:26 PM

Updated 2 days ago

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A New Rochelle family is mourning the sudden loss of a teenage boy. Two people have now been arrested in connection with the case.
"We're not ready for this, we miss him a lot," says New Rochelle resident Mynor Temaj.
Temaj and the rest of his family are at a loss. His nephew, 15-year-old Jonson Temaj, is gone. He was found unresponsive Thursday morning at the corner of Charles Street and Washington Avenue in New Rochelle. He didn't have a shirt on or shoes, according to police. He later died at the hospital.
"There's no obvious signs of trauma. We're waiting the medical examiner report on toxicology," says Capt. J. Collins Coyne, with the New Rochelle Police Department.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the case.
Hugo Perez-Gabriel, 32, of New Rochelle, has been charged with concealment of a human corpse and endangering the welfare of a child.
A 16-year-old from New Rochelle has been charged with concealment of a human corpse.
The two are accused of dragging Temaj's body from a nearby home and leaving him on the side of the road.
"The two people that were arrested are related, I believe it's an uncle/nephew situation," Capt. Coyne tells News 12.
Those two aren't related to Temaj. Police believe the two somehow knew him.
Perez-Gabriel was released Friday afternoon. He's due back in court Feb. 28.
"Me as his uncle, we want justice. What has the world come to?," says Temaj's uncle, George Temaj.
Temaj's family is heartbroken.
He was a student at New Rochelle High School.
His family says he came to the U.S. a couple years ago from Guatemala.
"He came for a good future, achieve dreams," says Mynor Temaj.