Many remember Cyrus Belt for the way he died.

John Hina tries to remember little Cyrus for the way he lived.

"He just had a beautiful smile," said Hina, Cyrus' uncle, "and he was always warm."

He added, "I remember nothing but good stuff."

It's what Hina has to do to deal with his grief.

One year ago this Saturday, in one of the most horrendous crimes the state has ever seen, Cyrus was dropped from the H-1 Freeway footbridge at Miller Street into midday west-bound traffic. His accused killer, Matthew M. Higa, was a neighbor.

For many, including those who never knew Cyrus, the pain of that day is something they will not soon forget. For some, the emotional wounds of his death are still too raw to talk about. The toddler's two primary caregivers, grandfather Lilo Asiata and mother Nancy Chanco, said through relatives last week they weren't ready to speak publicly about Cyrus.

Countless others — including those who never met Cyrus -are still mourning the loss of one so young. Some have chosen to remember Cyrus with online memorials — including a Web page: myspace.com/cyrusbelt — while others have dealt with the tragedy by leaving small mementos or flowers at his grave.

Lorraine Lagerfeld, 83, who lives in an apartment across the street from the footbridge where Cyrus was killed, said a day hardly goes by that she doesn't think of Cyrus.

"Every time I look over there (at the overpass), I think of that little boy," she said. "I will never forget it. I can't believe anyone could do such a thing."

Honolulu resident Shyenne Schuster, who has three children and runs the MySpace.com memorial page for Cyrus, tears up whenever she passes the place where Cyrus was thrown. Schuster didn't know Cyrus, but was so moved by his death that she attended his funeral and struck up a friendship with Cyrus' aunt, Lisa Belt. The friendship helped Schuster. It also spurred her to keep Cyrus' memory alive on the Internet, so that others could share their tributes.

"With the memorial page, it just helps (people) heal," she said.

She added: "I want everybody to know his story."

BABYLAND III

It was just after 11:40 a.m. on Jan. 17, 2008, when witnesses spotted a man throwing a baby, wrapped in a blanket, from the Miller Street overpass. Higa, 23, whom police said was on crystal methamphetamine at the time, was arrested a short time later.

That day, Asiata was caring for Cyrus. According to court documents, the grandfather had been napping when Cyrus was taken. It's still unclear whether the toddler was snatched or taken with permission. Asiata told police after the child was killed that Cyrus was walking with a neighbor. But Cyrus' mother said she never allowed Higa to watch Cyrus.

Two weeks after his death and two days shy of his second birthday, Cyrus Nainoa Tupa'i Belt was buried at Hawaiian Memorial Park in a white, 4-foot-long casket. His gravesite is on a windswept hillside in an area of the cemetery known as Babyland III. An overflow crowd of more than 200 attended his funeral. About 80 gathered around his casket on a chilly, rainy day to say goodbye.

Among the mourners were dozens of strangers, people who had only known Cyrus through his photos, which showed a bubbly, rambunctious,ever-smiling little boy. Hundreds more were so touched by his death that they flocked to the overpass where he was killed to leave balloons and stuffed animals.

The memorial got so large that the state Department of Transportation had to intervene and take it down, fearing that drivers passing the site were too distracted.

Hina, Cyrus' uncle, said the support, from all over the Islands and across the country, was overwhelming. And, he said, it helped the family through dark times.

But with the outpouring of love for Cyrus and support for his family came something else — anger. On Internet message boards, on talk radio, in letters to the editor, people were outraged at Higa, but also angry at Child Welfare Services workers, who had been looking into Cyrus' care, and at his family.

Everyone wanted to know how this could happen.

Everyone wanted to know how it could have been prevented.

NO TRIAL YET

Today, one year later, many are still left with questions about the case — questions that may never be answered, especially if Higa never stands trial. The court is still trying to determine whether Higa is mentally fit to face charges.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Human Services, which oversees Child Welfare Services, has closed its case involving Cyrus. Child welfare workers were looking into allegations of drug abuse against Cyrus' mother, Nancy Chanco, including one made six days before Cyrus was killed, documents showed.

Child welfare workers had planned to go to Cyrus' home the afternoon he died.

Lillian Koller, executive director of the Human Services Department, said Cyrus' case is now a matter for police and the courts.

"DHS officially closed its investigation into the death of Cyrus in July 2008," Koller said in a written statement last week. "At this point, the death of Cyrus is a criminal case."

After Cyrus was killed, lawmakers took up his death as a rallying cry — pledging to prevent a similar tragedy in the future. But House Bill 2596, called the Cyrus Belt Bill, which would have required DHS to investigate reports of drug abuse in a home with children within 24 hours, failed to gain enough votes.

State Rep. John Mizuno, who supported the bill, said he plans to revive the measure in the coming legislative session. "We are still very concerned É for our keiki," he said. "I'm going to do all I can to make sure this bill has legs."

Lisa Belt, Cyrus' aunt on his father's side, said she was frustrated that the measure failed to pass and that more hasn't been done to prevent another tragedy. "When it first happened, people were urging lawmakers to do something," she said. "But they haven't done anything."

Still, Belt said she is grateful for the immense outpouring of support following Cyrus' death. She said even today people who never knew Cyrus visit his grave to leave toys and flowers. At the gravesite last week, there were a few stuffed animals, and two plastic candy canes stuck in the ground in the shape of a heart.

Fresh daisies and mums were in the vase at his grave.

And his gravestone, which reads "Baby Cyrus" and "Forever in Our Hearts," was adorned in silver garland.

Belt said one of the greatest tragedies of her nephew's death is that Hawai'i and the world will never get to see him grow up.

"We'll never see what kind of person Cyrus would have been," she said. "He could have been something great."