MURPHY, N.C. — The community has raised nearly $25,000 for the father of 4-year-old twin boys who were allegedly drowned by their mother in North Carolina last month.

Their mother was later arrested in north Georgia.

Genevieve Springer is accused of killing Kessler Clay Springer and Conner Thomas Springer at her home in Murphy on Feb. 29. The boys’ bodies were discovered when their father, Clay Springer, came to pick them up during a planned custody exchange.

He found the boys dead in their beds holding stuffed animals.

Genevieve Springer was later arrested at a hospital in Union County, Georgia.

“Kessler was older by two minutes and lived up to being the older brother,” family members wrote in an obituary. “He watched out for Conner, would bring him tissues when he cried and would bring him ice water when thirsty. He was a sweet, gentle, loving boy.”

According to the obituary, the boys loved jumping on the trampoline together and going on hikes with their father.

“Conner was a brilliant, kind and thoughtful little boy. He was very analytical, reading whole books, writing letters, counting to 100 and reciting all the colors in Spanish,” family members wrote in Conner’s obituary.