Edison Boy, 13, Dies Unexpectedly

EDISON, NJ — A 13-year-old boy from Edison died unexpectedly on Saturday, his family confirmed. This is the second time in less than one month that a youngster from Edison Township has tragically passed away, although the deaths are not related. On Jan. 22, a 6-year-old Edison girl and her grandmother died in a house fire.

Jasper Boyd died unexpectedly on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 15, his family wrote on this GoFundMe page they set up for him. He 13 and in the eighth grade at Herbert Hoover Elementary School in Edison, according to Bernard Bragen, superintendent of Edison schools.

The cause of his untimely death is currently unknown.

Bragen said he did not know the child's cause of death.

"Sadly, Jasper passed away unexpectedly the morning of February 15, 2020," Deja Boyd, of Matawan, wrote on the GoFundMe page. "We are asking for donations to help cover funeral cost and support for his mother Christina, and sisters Shaiasia and Cambria."

Jasper leaves behind his mother and two sisters. Funeral services for the child will be at Flynn and Son funeral home in Perth Amboy at 12 noon on Thursday, she posted on Facebook. A viewing will be from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Jasper is the second Edison child to die this winter: As Patch reported, a 6-year-old girl and her 56-year-old grandmother died in an Edison house fire on the afternoon of Wednesday, Jan. 22. The grandmother, Kathleen O’Callahan, was babysitting the little girl at the family's duplex home on Jill Court, while the child's mother was at work. The girl was identified by NJ.com as Jessica Bencivenga.

The fast-moving fire broke out at 2:21 p.m. that day, and the grandmother and the child were trapped inside the burning home when first responders got there, said Edison firefighters.

The grandmother was pronounced dead at the scene. Jessica was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, but died shortly after that same day due to her injuries, said the county prosecutor.