CORAL SPRINGS
Tragedy tearing family apart
A family is grieving the loss of two sons: a dead 14-year-old and the 15-year-old charged in his stabbing death.
BY LAURA FIGUEROA
lfigueroa@MiamiHerald.com
With one brother dead from a fatal stab wound, and another brother behind bars in connection with the stabbing, Shirley Gorzynski -- paternal grandmother of the boys -- said her family is mourning two losses.
Tuesday morning, the Gorzynski family will bury 14-year-old Matthew Gorzynski.
Her family, she said, cannot fully grieve until William Gorzynski, 15, is out of jail and by their side.
William is being held at a juvenile detention center on charges of second degree murder stemming from a Monday afternoon altercation where Matthew ended up dead from a knife wound.
``These boys loved each other,'' the grandmother said. She clutched a tissue and wept softly as she spoke at a Friday news conference organized by the family's attorney Glenn Roderman.
``We can't really mourn Matt until we have William back,'' she said. ``My son cannot lose two sons.''
The boys, students at J.P Taravella High School, started to bicker when they got home from school Monday afternoon. As tensions grew, Matthew reportedly came after William and started punching him. That's when William grabbed a steak knife from the kitchen to defend himself against his brother, Roderman said.
When Coral Springs police arrived at the Gorzynski home, they found Matthew lying in his bedroom bleeding. According to a police report, William blurted ``It was an accident.''
Roderman contends the stabbing was in self-defense because Matthew, who enjoyed lifting weights, was bigger and stronger than his older brother.
William will remain in a juvenile detention center for the next 21 days, said Carla Lowry, co-counsel for the family.
``We're hoping with the outpour of support that they will try him as a juvenile,'' Lowry said.
Coral Springs Police released parts of William's call to 911. The teen wails and breaths heavily as he pleads for help.
``Please hurry,'' he shouts to the operator.
When the operator asks for Matthew's condition, William responds: ``He's breathing, but barely.''
The boys lived with their father, who was at work when the stabbing occurred.
The Florida Department of Children & Families has had ``prior involvement'' with the family.
Only 11 months apart in age, the boys shared several mutual friends at J.P Taravella High School. Shirley Gorzynski said those friends have since reached out to the family to show support for both boys.
``They have shirts with Matt's picture on the front,'' Gorzynski said. ``On the back they have William's picture and the words `We support you.' ''
Gorzynski said she was allowed to visit her grandson Friday morning.
``He's in denial,'' she said. ``I don't think he's really grasped what's happened. He's going to have to live with this his whole life.''
Miami Herald staff writer Carol Marbin Miller contributed to this report.
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