Zoya Faessler

Police seeking woman seen on CCTV with abducted 8-year-old

Tears rolled down eight-year-old Danielle Rowe's face as she took her last breath early Saturday morning.

The brutal nature of the little girl's murder — abducted after leaving Braeton Primary and Infant School in Portmore, St Catherine, last Thursday afternoon, her throat slashed before being thrown out of a motor vehicle on Roosevelt Avenue in St Andrew, more than 13 miles away — triggered national outrage.

On Monday afternoon, the police confirmed that they are seeking a woman seen on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage with Danielle on Roosevelt Avenue.

During morning devotion at the school on Monday, the head of the St Catherine South Police Division, Senior Superintendent Christopher Phillips, shared with teachers, parents, Education Minister Fayval Williams, and students a conversation he had with Danielle's mother, Sudiene Mason, early last Saturday morning after the child succumbed to her injuries at the hospital where she had been taken by a soldier who found her on the street.

"When I spoke to the mother on Saturday, she said, 'Yes, Mr Phillips, Danielle died at 3:00 am and she died with teardrops on her face'," Phillips related, then issued a charge to the nation.

"We must not let her tear drops be in vain. Let us work as a community, as a country to ensure justice is served," Phillips said, adding that the police remain committed to finding the people involved in the gruesome murder.

Throughout the devotion — which was also attended by Danielle's father, Norval — her mother was inconsolable. She eventually fainted and was taken to a police patrol car then transported to receive medical attention.

However, just before she passed out Mason told journalists that she was puzzled as to who would want to kill her daughter.

"The same day she went missing, she said 'Mommy, when I come home, me and you a go do mi project.' Me and nobody is not in anything, so I don't know how or what led to this. I always watched the news and hear things like this happen to other parents, but I never expected it would happen to me. When I heard that my daughter was missing I basically walked out of my shoes. I was hoping she would come home with one of her classmates, but then I said, 'No, she wouldn't do that because she never did that before'. My head was all over the place. That was when I heard she was in the hospital," the grieving mother shared.

Minister Williams, in her remarks, urged support for Danielle's family and the school, adding that additional safety measures will be put in place in "the hope that something like this will never happen again".

"We should rally around the family and the school. We have already committed to the mom that we will stand with her. We know there will be many unexpected expenses associated with this and so we are committed to being with her through all of that," Williams said.

The minister also shared an experience that she and representatives from her ministry had at the family house during a condolence visit.

"As we tried to console Danielle's mom, she pointed to the cutest little dog that was laying down in the yard. She said, 'That is Danielle's dog. He has just been laying there all day.' She showed us a sardine can that was right beside the dog. She said he loved sardines but hadn't touched it," Williams related.

Meanwhile, Dr Gail Hudson, chair of the school board, in her remarks said, "We are all in mourning. As chairman of the school board, you can imagine how I feel. One of the things we wanted to do was to put ourselves on the map, but not like this. We never knew that we were going to be on the map in this manner. All of you standing here today know that, as a parent, not one of you plans to bury a child.

"I extend a big thank you to all the people here. We need your support and continued love. We are asking you, respectfully, not to make this a nine-day wonder, and that even after you will visit with us a talk with us. This pain will be with us for a long time."

Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas said plans are in motion to install CCTV cameras throughout the school.

"I heard the minister say they are planning to cover the front of the school with cameras. Myself, the member of parliament, and the councilor had a discussion. We are going to cover the entire school compound. We are going to drive that process throughout the municipality. We started in some of the primary schools in Portmore. Some of them already have cameras. We are going to now look at the ones that don't have, and Minister, we are going to send the information to you so we can cover these primary schools that don't have cameras. We can't bring back her life, but we can protect the others," Thomas said.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness described Danielle's murder as "deeply disturbing and barbaric" and expressed condolence to her family and friends.

"Anyone who has any information or knowledge of this incident should immediately inform the police. We cannot be silent or protect those responsible for this gruesome act. Society cannot surrender to wanton violence, and we must be unequivocal when violence is directed against our children," he said.

Holness also said he had directed that all the necessary investigative resources must be mobilized to bring the perpetrator to justice. Additionally, he said he had instructed the education minister "to have all schools review their safety and security policy to ensure that the policies and procedures are being effectively practiced".

At the weekend, the education ministry issued a statement saying that steps have been taken through its regional office, Guidance and Counselling Unit as well as the Safety and Security Unit to determine whether there were breaches of the ministry's established protocols regarding safety.

According to the ministry, the school employs three regular watchmen and two additional workers as relief watchmen.

The Jamaica Observer was told that the police have since interrogated the watchman who was on duty at the time of the abduction.

Source- Jamaica Observer

by Zoya Faessler