CANARSIE — Friends and family gathered Wednesday to mourn a 21-year-old autistic student who choked to death on a muffin at her Brooklyn public school last week, after relatives said school officials failed to properly monitor her.
Dyasha Phelps Smith lay in a white casket, dressed in a white satin gown with sequins, a veil and gloves made of white gauze with a teddy bear perched beside her body during the ceremony at Guarino Funeral Home at 2999 Flatlands Ave. in Canarsie.
"I miss my daughter," said mother Catherine Smith, 70, who cried uncontrollably during the ceremony. "I cherished her every step."
Phelps Smith's cousin, Anastasia Romeo, said she would miss her "little kisses" and "her energy" the most.
A television at the corner of the room showed a series of photographs of the Smith family and Phelps Smith as Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" played in the background.
Phelps Smith, a student at Star Academy, a special program at the School for International Studies at 284 Baltic St., choked to death at her school last Tuesday — after eating a muffin her family said she should have never been allowed to eat unsupervised.
Phelps Smith required a full-time paraprofessional and should have been monitored constantly, especially while eating, her mother Catherine Smith said.
Phelps Smith, who was adopted at the age of 7, was the youngest of seven children, Smith said.
"She was my last baby," Smith said.
