Children seeing ‘ghost’ of dead mom

Visions of their dead mother continue to haunt Nicholas and Nicolette Rampersad, days after they witnessed a relative strangle her with his bare hands at their Penal home. The children, aged eight and nine, respectively, are in desperate need of psychological counselling as they are “seeing the ghost” of Stella Rampersad, 30, walking about their Moolchand Trace, Penal Rock Road, home.

They have been unable to eat or sleep since Rampersad was beaten and strangled around 6 pm on Friday. Their six-week-old baby step-sister Rianna Thakur was left lying in her crib when the woman was murdered. During an interview yesterday, the children’s grandmother Latchmin Rajpat, 60, said she was worried about her grandchildren who are yet to receive counselling. “The police told me that they will get counselling after the funeral but these children suffering so much,” Rajpat said. So deep is the children’s trauma that they are afraid to be by themselves.

“If I have to go by the bathroom, they following me and waiting outside the door. They telling me that they scared,” Rajpat said. “He (Nicholas) tells me that mummy is standing there cleaning the house. He sees her sweeping, opening the toilet and washing his clothes.” Rajpat said the children have become withdrawn and were crying incessantly. They have also started showing “animosity” towards the six-week-old baby, Rajpat said. “I heard them telling the little baby that their mother may have died but they still had their father and that Rianna’s (relative) killed their mother,” Rajpat said.

She noted that Rampersad started seeing the suspect secretly two years ago. She then left Nicholas and Nicolette and went to live with him at Debe. However, she never knew her daughter was being abused. Six months ago the couple moved back to Moolchand Trace. “I know they used to quarrel a lot but I did not think it would come to this,” Rajpat said. She explained that it will be difficult to care for Rianna but she was determined to do so. She expressed gratitude to Nicolette and Nicholas’ father Russel Rampersad who assists in caring for them.

Rampersad’s funeral is expected to take place today from 9 am. A 30-year-old Guyanese national is expected to be charged with her murder.