Senior Reporter
annalisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
Grieving relatives yesterday laid slain siblings Simeon and Siniaya Lessey to rest in an emotional farewell filled with song and dance.
The two were killed in the carpark of the Courts Megastore in San Juan on Sunday, allegedly by an off-duty police officer.
But the emotional setting did not stop Siniaya’s husband from lashing out at mainstream media for providing information which he claimed was used to malign her name in death.
With standing room only at the Misir Community Centre, St Francois Valley Road, Belmont, relatives, friends, neighbours and well-wishers sang joyously as the sound of the drums pierced the air during the funeral service, which was done under Baptist rites.
As the crowd spilt out of the small building into the carpark and roadway, Siniaya’s husband, United National Congress (UNC) alderman Kareem Baird, said he had accepted that she was gone.
However, as he called on those present to view the farewell as a “life renewal,” he trained his guns on the Guardian Media crew present as he declared, “She wasn’t a robber, a liar, a thief or a bandit. She worked hard and then some.”
Walking up to photographer Nicole Drayton several times during the service and addressing her directly, Baird warned he would be “coming” for the company she represented after the funeral.
As members of the congregation nodded in agreement, whilst others murmured criticisms about the media, those standing close by offered words of comfort and reached out to Drayton in a reassuring manner, as they urged her not to take it personal.
Following the shooting incident on Sunday, which also left two others injured, initial reports by police indicated that the Lessey siblings were killed during an attempted robbery.
This, however, was immediately dismissed by relatives, including their mother Abigail John, who claimed Siniaya had, in fact, paid a man $11,000 to purchase items at a discounted price at Courts. After realising she had fallen victim to a social media scam by the man who claimed to be a police officer, Lessey tracked him down to the Megastore in San Juan on Sunday. It was there she and other relatives confronted the man, demanding that her money be returned. Her mother said she even filed a report at the Barataria Police Station about the alleged scam.
During the service, which was attended by Oropouche West MP Dave Tancoo, St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen and several of Siniaya’s colleagues from the House of Angostura, Baird advised those present, “Take a minute and look at yourself.”
He said people live and treat each other like tomorrow is promised. But he went further as he called on them to consider what would be their end story if tomorrow never came.
Baird, who led the service, asked them to reflect on whether they were selfish, selfless, or encouraging towards each other.
“Are you living to help one another?” he asked.
Claiming there was no need to make it public when they helped someone, Baird said all he could do now was live in his wife’s memory, as there was nothing he could do to bring her back. He pledged to get justice for the deaths and ensure his and Siniaya’s young son would be safe and taken care of for the rest of his life. Baird also promised to spend time in church seeking answers and guidance from his God.
The Lessey siblings were later interred at the San Juan Public Cemetery.