Norwell Children Raise $2,000 For Chesna Family With Lemonade Stand

NORWELL (CBS) - Three Norwell children who set up a lemonade stand helped raise $2,000 for the family of slain Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna.

Max Allegrini, 7, and his cousins, Gabriel Murray, 8, and Matilda Murray, 10, set up the stand at the corner of Prospect Street and Jacobs Lane on Thursday morning.

The same day, over in nearby Hanover, thousands of police officers and citizens attended Chesna's wake at St. Mary of the Sacred Heart Church.

The three cousins held handmade signs that read: "Help kids help Sgt. Chesna" and "Lemonade for fallen officer, donations accepted."

They sold lemonade for $1 a cup to police officers, firefighters and emergency responders who stopped by, as well as local residents. At one point, people waited in line for the lemonade.

By Thursday night, the cousins had raised more than $900, surpassing their initial fundraising goal of $200.

The children's parents, Sam Allegrini and Vera and Paddy Murray, matched the amount the children raised, plus a little more, for an end total of $2,000 to be donated to a fund that will help the Chesna family.

A funeral Mass for the 42-year-old Chesna was held Friday morning at St. Mary of the Sacred Heart in Hanover. A burial was scheduled for Friday afternoon at Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree.

Chesna was killed Sunday by a man who police say threw a rock at the officer and then repeatedly shot him with the officer's weapon.

The suspect also is charged with killing a 77-year-old bystander, Vera Adams.