Reflecting on Mother's Day (May 19), Sea Lots matriarch Sabrina Assing said it was bittersweet since she is still mourning the loss of her daughter, the late Oyin Angel Assing.Assing, 20, a geriatric nurse from Pioneer Drive, Sea Lots, was found dead on April 4. Her body was found floating off Dhein's Bay in Carenage. Her abdomen was sliced open and her intestines removed.Assing recalled that Mother's Day started off with a special function at the nearby Sea Lots Open Bible Church which is headed by Rev Junior Bedeau, a friend of the Assings, who also officiated at her daughter's funeral. Then Assing and her clan of ten children and several grandchildren enjoyed a delicious lunch of curried meats and roti. Assing opened her stack of presents. But the joy of motherhood was tinged with sadness at the passing of her daughter.
To compound it, five years ago on Holy Thursday (March 20, 2005) Assing had to deal with another personal tragedy–the murder of her husband Barnet. Then on February 24, she almost lost another daughter, Abigail, in the infamous Sea Lots accident which claimed the lives of Haydee Paul, 28, and her children Shakira, eight, and Akasha (Ruthie) Paul, seven.Abigail Assing suffered a broken hip, three fingers on her right hand were broken and her large intestine was ruptured. She had to undergo surgery.Assing said, "I was sad it was a Mother's Day without Angel. It was a bit strange without her. She is accustomed being here. And now she is gone. No one can fill that void...that gap. She was miserable. But she was a sweet child. It is hard coping with her death. But once you put your trust in God it would work out well."It is just a tragic recurrence. I lost my husband. He was murdered outside our house. Nothing came out of it. Abigail was in an accident. And 40 days after the accident, Angel was murdered. I am recovering. But the hurt is inside. People felt because I didn't bawl like a madwoman I was not missing Angel, but I was grieving. When I saw what happened to Sunshine, I felt it for her parents. I felt like it was happening to me."
On May 8, the decomposed corpse of Sunshine Alfred, 17, of Orchid Gardens, Pleasantville, was found by Ronnie Mooliesingh around 6.20 pm at Cedar Hill, Princes Town. An autopsy conducted at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, by pathologist Dr Valerie Alexandrov stated Alfred was knocked unconscious with a metal object before being stabbed to death.As the family anxiously awaited news about Angel, her mother said she was prepared for the worst. "I knew something was wrong. She would answer her cell phone. When they came and told me to come and identify the body, I could not believe the state of the body. Before we got there someone had taken a photo and put it on the Internet. It was already circulating."Assing said her faith in God had made the difference. "If I didn't know Christ, think where I would be today. I had someone to hold on to and stand in the gap. Imagine if you go out and kill someone and then their family kills another member of your family. It would be a vicious cycle of more senseless murders. I would advise parents who have lost their children in tragic circumstances to put their faith in God. Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord, I will repay."
Asked if she ever dreamt Angel, she said: "I just closed my eyes one day, I was just relaxing...not sleeping, and I got a vision of her sitting on a brick and feeding white pigeons."Asked about Abigail, she said: "She lives at her home in Sea Lots. She is coming along. Her recovery is due to the prayers. Ryan Rampersad (another accident victim) is said to be 98 per cent paralysed."Assing said Sea Lots residents were appalled at the callous behaviour of the police. "They fired two rubber bullets at my son Abiel. They wanted to keep me away from Abigail. It caused emotions to run high. Shakira was still breathing. And the police were saying "leave them, let them die."Asked if she felt Sea Lots residents should be relocated, she said: "If they relocate them the problems still remains. Sea Lots has a lot of unity. They need to talk to the people and see what their needs are. It is not just about putting a traffic light. Too much negative stigma is associated with Sea Lots."
Angel's update
To date, Assing said she has not gotten any word from the Besson Police Station about who could have killed her child. She said the experience was similar to that of her late husband. On Tuesday, when contacted, an officer at Besson Police Station said Homicide Bureau Region 1 was dealing with it. When contacted, an officer at the Homicide Bureau said there was no further update or new leads relative to Angel's homicide.