Senior Investigative Reporter
Shaliza.hassanali@guardian.co.tt
Yesterday, the Investigations Desk looked at the growing number of children being killed in T&T.
In the past 12 years, children have lost their lives either to a bullet, beating, strangulation, stabbing or having their throats slit by their killers, while some also perished in fires and drowned. Others faced a premature end in mishandling and playing with illegal firearms.
During the period in question, between 2013 and January 19 of this year, more than 60 per cent of the 67 children who died were from gun-related matters. The children–50 boys and 17 girls–were between five and 17 years old.
Do families get closure or justice in these cases?
In part two today, we talk to two families affected by such tragedies.
Bleeding from a stab wound in his neck and chest, 12-year-old Levi Lewis ran half a mile to his grandfather’s home to save his mother Abeo Cudjoe, who was being violently chopped.
By the time help arrived, Cudjoe, 31, had already been murdered at her Lachoos Road, Penal home.
Levi, a Standard Five Penal RC Primary School pupil, died shortly after. Both mother and son were killed on May 10, 2022.
Levi was one of 67 children who lost their lives in the last 12 years.
Almost three years later, Levi’s uncle, Shane Lewis, says no one has been charged with the double murder. Lewis, 38, feels the police did not do their best to bring the killers to justice.
“I feel the police did not do enough to investigate and come to a proper conclusion of what really took place and for justice to be served,” Lewis said.
“We are leaving everything in the hands of God. The killers might escape the law and court but they would not get away from God.” The killings, Lewis said, left a deep gap in his life and with a broken heart.
“We still miss him a lot at every family event. Levi’s life was taken at such a young age. He was a blooming youth…an outstanding student. He had so much to live for. If a sickness had befallen Levi we would have been more at peace,” Lewis said.
When Lewis reflects on the savage killings, it reduces him to tears.
Levi had set his heart on becoming a professional footballer. Two months before his death, he wrote the Secondary Entrance Assessment examination. Levi passed for Penal Secondary.
“He was looking forward to attending secondary school.”
On the night of the incident, Lewis, said men armed with cutlasses and knives entered the house and began chopping and stabbing Cudjoe about the body.
“Levi tried to save his mother by intervening but he was stabbed in his chest and neck. He was a child like that…he loved his mother to death.”
Realising that he could not ward off the killers, Levi fled the house drenched in blood and ran half a mile to his grandfather’s home to get help for his mother.
Lewis said the ambulance took two hours to arrive.
Levi died on his way to the hospital.
By the time the police arrived, Cudjoe had been hacked to death.
“Abeo was chopped multiple times. The knives were plunged into her calves. It was like a hatred killing. It was horrendous.”
Lewis described his nephew as a hero for trying to save his mother when his life was leaving his body.
The Peterkin story
“To tell you the truth, I have not gotten over this. No matter what… I will never get over this.”
This was the word from Melissa Rampersad, as she broke her silence on the September 21, 2023, murders of Shane Peterkin, 17, Tiffany Peterkin, 19, Faith Peterkin,10, and Arianna Peterkin, 14. The four siblings were killed when gunmen stormed their Arima home around midnight.
Five other members of the family were also injured in the attack.
Rampersad is the aunt of the victims. Her older sister Anesa Rampersad is the children’s mother.
Sixteen months after the mass shootings, Rampersad said Anesa is like a “ticking time bomb right now.”
“Anesa doh have nothing to lose no more. She doh have none of she children with she right now,” said 38-year-old Rampersad.
Rampersad, a mother of six, said she tries to be strong for her older sister, who masks her pain, suffering and grief.
“But I doh think she would ever…ever get over this ordeal.”
Rampersad said the house in which the children were killed has been a constant reminder of the incident.
“All the pores in my body does raise when I go by that house,” said Rampersad, who lives nearby.
She recalled that Anesa and her husband worked hard to give their children a good life and solid education. Rampersad misses Faith the most.
“Whenever Anesa cooked liver, Faith used to come over by me to ask what ah cooking. She did not like liver and I would have to give her something to eat.”
Faith grew up in Rampersad’s arms.
“I see about Faith from baby, when Anesa used to hustle in the dump.”
Tiffany often harassed Rampersad to borrow her clothes.
Arianna had a habit of visiting Rampersad’s house whenever her mother reprimanded her.
“They were like my children. I does miss them because they brought comfort in meh heart. Them children were so loving and kind. They did not deserve to go the way they did.”
Rampersad said the murders destroyed their entire family.
“It could never be the same again. It’s frustrating.”
To help cope with the loss, Rampersad was offered counselling. However, she only attended a few sessions and stopped.
“About two or three months I stopped that because when I go there it does bring up too much memories and I can’t deal with that because I does feel like ah going crazy. I rather deal with it on my own by the grace of God.”
Jalani Rivers, 22, and Jodel Noel, 24, have been jointly charged with the murders of the Peterkin siblings.
