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Powhatan vigil will honor slain 5-year-old North Carolina boy

Cannon Hinnant
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POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. -- Some in Central Virginia will gather Sunday to remember five-year-old Cannon Hinnant.

The boy was shot and killed while riding his bike last Sunday the North Carolina city of Wilson.

Investigators have charged 25-year-old Darius Sessoms with first-degree murder in Cannon’s death.

Cannon's family said they have known Sessoms for years.

Sunday's vigil is being organized by the group, Cannon's great aunt, Diann Frank, and starts at 7 p.m. at the Powhatan Courthouse on Old Buckingham Road.

A funeral was held for the 5-year-old Thursday at 7 p.m.

Cannon's dad speaks out: 'There wasn't anything between me and him'

Police said that Sessoms lived next to the boy’s father, although police have not released a motive.

"There wasn't anything between me and him, any bad blood whatsoever, for him to have a reason to do this," Cannon's father Austin Hinnant told WRAL.

WRAL-TV reported that Sessoms said he planned to hire his own lawyer at a court hearing on Tuesday. He rejected a judge’s attempt to appoint an attorney for him.

The Wilson County clerk’s office said Thursday that he had still not hired an attorney.

RELATED: Authorities capture suspect in 5-year-old's fatal shooting

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