ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — On Tuesday Melissa and Michael Farrell learned the childhood friend and neighbor they say they warned their son about is charged in his death.
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“Everybody kept saying he’s trouble,” Michael Farrell said. “He said ‘you don’t know him like I do. He’s a good kid.’”
The state attorney’s office has decided to charge 16-year-old Arden Xavier Torres as an adult. It said the decision was based on the evidence they’ve seen so far.
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“It kills me because they were so close,” Melissa Farrell said. “I don’t hate him. Arden had a hard life. It is going to take a long time to forgive him.”
Two weeks ago, Melissa Farrell said she heard a gunshot and then saw Torres coming towards her with blood covering his hands. Seconds later, she said she found her 18-year-old son Jacob shot in the back of the head.
While Jacob was fighting for his life in the hospital, the Farrell’s said they learned Jacob decided to donate his organs two years earlier when he went in for open heart surgery.
“Four people get to live because of him,” Michael Farrell said.
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Farrell’s lungs, kidney, liver, and pancreas were donated.
“What I want him to be remembered for is the love he had for mankind,” Michael Farrell said.
Jacob dedicated his life to God at 11. His parents say, even now, they know their son hasn’t given up on his friend.
“He’d probably loved to see if he accepted Christ. Because if he did and asked for forgiveness, he’d be like anyone else. He’d be forgiven,” Michael Farrell said.
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The Farrells say they pray for the strength to forgive every day, to honor God and their son.
“I want him to try to get with God and turn his life around,” Michael Farrell said. “And be a contributing member of society. And that would mean more to me than anything.”
Torres is currently facing two charges for manslaughter and possession of a firearm by a minor.
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