NORTH HIGHLANDS (CBS13) – Local residents gathered in North Highlands on Sunday to raise funds for a Sacramento mother forced to bury her 9-year-old son.

People washed cars to help Jessica Herndandez pay for the funeral of her son Matthew. He was allegedly killed by his father, Phillip Hernandez, with a hatchet as he slept on the couch.

“It’s overwhelming and kinda crazy and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same. But I have to stay strong for my other son Phillip Angel,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez lives out of the area and hopes she can move back to Sacramento to be with her other son.

Police say a relative at the family’s home on Atrisco Circle in Natomas called 9-1-1 just before midnight Tuesday, saying the boy had died.

Emergency crews and police arrived at the home and found Matthew Hernandez dead from blunt force trauma to the head. Police were told the boy’s father, 36-year-old Phillip Hernandez, was to blame. He was arrested about 15 minutes later while walking in the area.