A hurting Omadavee Lavia was still trying to come to terms with the untimely death of her 14-year-old daughter yesterday.Speaking with the media at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, Lavia said her daughter Murchanna, whom she described as a loving child and a bookworm did not deserve to die at such a tender age."I never had a complaint. God gave me the best child and He take she away...you didn't deserve this baby you didn't deserve it," Lavia cried.
Unfortunately, Lavia's daughter died at the hands of a relative.According to police, Murchanna was reading a book at her Stoer Drive Extension, Petit Valley, home around 8 pm on Wednesday. Her relative, 15, was nearby playing with a loaded gun when it went off.Murchanna was hit once in the chest. She was rushed to the hospital by her brother and uncle but she died while undergoing treatment.According to police, the suspect later claimed he heard a loud explosion and found Lavia, a Form Three pupil of Providence Girls' High School, lying outside the house.
The suspect was assisting police in their investigation up to last night but the gun still had not been found.
Aspiring lawyer
Yesterday, the child's mother, who said she was at a wake when the incident occurred, said her daughter always wanted to attend Providence Girls' High and told her she would win a scholarship so her parents would not have to worry about financing her education. She wanted to study law."She would say 'don't worry I would get a scholarship and you would not have to spend a dollar.' She loved to read. She would bring home books from the library and just read. She was reading when it happened," the senior Lavia said."She don't lime, she don't go MovieTowne, she would just stay home and read. She didn't even have a boyfriend."
At the family's home yesterday, relatives gathered to offer support to the grieving mother. Many expressed their disbelief that such an incident had occurred.Many of the relatives were heard saying the relative would have been shocked at what he had done.Her brother, Anthony, said she was loved by the entire family and was an all-A student.He said, however, that they would forgive the relative for his mistake because he didn't mean to kill her and hoped the world would do so, too. He said, however, he had warned the relative about the bad company he was keeping.A woman, who said she was the child's grandmother, said she sat down and created the first name for the 14-year-old victim. The woman added that Lavia wanted to attend Providence because she had attended the school.
Cops seize two guns, arrest nine
Meanwhile, officers of the Western Division arrested nine people and seized two guns during an exercise in the division on Wednesday.According to police, the exercise began around 9 am and lasted for almost nine hours and was concentrated in the Covigne Road and Rich Plain communities, Diego Martin.Snr Supt Ishmael David, who co-ordinated the exercise, said it was part of the division's drive to eradicate illegal activity plaguing the division.Two homemade shotguns, a Berretta pistol, 25 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 40 rounds of .44 ammunition, eight 12-gauge cartridges, 40 pounds of marijuana and one army camouflage were seized.One man was arrested for gun-related offences while eight others were taken into custody for various offences and outstanding warrants.The exercise was led by Supt Patterson, ASP Ramlochan, Insp Saunders and Sgt Vincent and included officers of the Criminal Investigation Department, K9 Unit, Tactical Unit and the T&T Regiment.David said similar exercises will be conducted throughout the division and appealed to the public to work with the police for the benefit of all.