A family member holds up the picture of six-year-old Zidan Linton, who was murdered after a lone gunman fired into a crowd at a football match. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHERENID GORDON'S potential will never be known; her dreams have all been deferred.
Ironically, it was on that same path, that she was brutally raped and
threatened, allegedly by two men from her district. They have since been taken into custody for questioning.
Violence against young girls is
nothing new to Westmoreland. Almost four months ago, another rural community, Town Head, was the scene of a heinous double murder. Two small girls Shanna-Kaye Legister and Sheneka Shakes, ages eight and nine years, respectively, were raped and bludgeoned to death by unknown assailants as they took a short cut home from school. Their bodies were found on June 30 in cane fields, a day after they went missing.
To this day, the community has not come to terms with the brutal acts and no one has been charged in connection with the crimes.
"I want to know what kind of sick
person is targeting these little girls. This is a new phenomenon for us here in Westmoreland," said Dr. Karl Bylthe, Member of Parliament for Central Westmoreland. "The ugly head of crime is pushing up its face and we have to get some preventive measures in place by coming together to discuss the problem."
The Sunday Gleaner visited Content district and Town Head on Friday. It was obvious that residents are struggling to come to terms with the incidents.
STRUGGLING IN THEIR GRIEF
"From me hear the news, mi
pressure go up," recalled Claris Pennicooke, Enid's elderly aunt. "I feel so numb and the doctor said that I should try to keep calm but I don't know what to do because I cannot stop thinking about her."
Leebert Gordon, Enid's father, spoke of the encouragement he gave her following her ordeal last October.
"I told Enid that she was not the first to be raped and that she should try to go back to school. She eventually decide that she would go back and now this happen to her," said Mr. Gordon. Enid was the last of his 11 children with his wife Gertrude.
While the Gordons struggle in their grief, for two families in Town Head, closure is elusive. Janice Tomlinson, mother of Sheneka Shakes, told The Sunday Gleaner that on quiet days, her mind wrestles with the unacceptable reality that she will never see her daughter again.
"Sheneka nuh live no life. Everybody come here love her because she was so nice and quiet," said Ms. Tomlinson. "Nowadays, people watch dem girls more and dem don't trust anybody."
