It's hard for people in these communities to believe one of their own can do bad things, and it's a brotherhood -- Jews watch out for Jews, all over the world. If someone looks like you, you can trust them -- which of course isn't true, but it's not an uncommon belief. This applies in many senses to all Jewish communities; every time I move to a new place, my mother pushes me to find the Jews because they'll always be there for me. And that's been fairly true so far.
And I think he took the boy to a wedding, not a funeral, but it all seems so strange. Why not just take the boy home if that was the plan all along? It's so sad.