New Playground Honors Memory Of Slain Teen

LAVALLETTE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – A Jersey shore town is determined to always remember a teen whose life was cut short in a senseless murder.

With bags of cement on their shoulders, friends, family, and even strangers worked to cement Brendan Tevlin's memory into a playground in Lavallette.

Tevlin was just 19 years old in 2014 when he was murdered during a carjacking at a traffic light in West Orange by a Seattle man who said he was on a "jihad."

"We're all heartbroken, we're all devastated by it, it's just something you never imagine would happen to you. Family friends have been the rock that has gotten our family through this," the teen's god mother, Kathleen Magnier said.

Tevlin's family says the Jersey shore was a special place that helped shape his life motto.

"'Good vibes and easy living'… he lived it and he loved it. He was a surfer who spent days on the beach. This is a great town and a great place to have a playground," Tevlin's father Michael told CBS2's Meg Baker.

Volunteers with the non-profit "Where Angels Play" started construction bright and early Wednesday.

The group and the teen's relatives hope the playground will become a special place for all youngsters to make memories like the happy ones the Tevlins hold onto.