A mother’s nightmare - Coma, fear and a family’s fight to save 13-y-o stabbed in domestic dispute
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Kemelia at primary school graduation.
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Kemelia, a seventh-grade student at Excelsior.
A 13-year-old Excelsior High School student remains in a coma at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) after she was stabbed while trying to intervene in a violent domestic dispute in Bayshore Park in the vicinity of Harbour View, St Andrew, on Saturday night.
As doctors prepare for another major surgery to save her life, her distraught mother is now desperately appealing for public assistance to secure expensive medical items required for the procedure, as well as donations of blood.
The alleged attacker, identified by relatives as Kemar Mitchell, the father of the injured teen’s cousin’s child, remains on the run as police intensify their search for him.
The incident unfolded shortly after 10 p.m. on May 9, when the suspect reportedly went to the family home and attacked the mother of his child during a heated confrontation.
According to relatives, a restraining order had previously been taken out against the man because of alleged abusive behaviour towards the woman.
In the chaos, the 13-year-old girl, Kemelia Paul, and another relative reportedly tried to separate the pair.
“My daughter and another relative try fi part the fight and push him off,” the child’s mother, Josephine Mitchell, told The Gleaner yesterday.
“She say she suddenly feel like a thump in her belly, and when she check herself she realise say she get stab.”
The emotional mother said the teenager collapsed moments later as blood poured from the wound.
The suspect then allegedly attempted to continue attacking other relatives with the same knife, before fleeing the community.
Residents reportedly chased after him, but he escaped.
Since then, the child has remained hospitalised, unconscious and in critical condition.
“She hasn’t spoken since,” Mitchell said, with her voice trembling.
“She can’t eat. She’s just lying there.”
Doctors reportedly performed an emergency surgery on Sunday after discovering severe internal bleeding.
However, further scans later revealed extensive damage to the child’s liver, forcing medical personnel to schedule another urgent operation.
Mitchell said she has been instructed to source specialised surgical supplies needed for the procedure, including an Endo GIA handle, Vascular Reloads and a LigaSure handle, equipment she says she cannot afford on her own.
“The first surgery was to stop the bleeding,” she explained.
“After the CT scan, them realise the left side of her liver is bad.”
The overwhelmed mother said she has spent the past several days travelling between pharmacies and medical suppliers, trying to secure the items requested by doctors.
Mitchell told The Gleaner she has $70,000 in her possession and that just one of the devices costs close to $100,000.
“It’s life and death now,” she said quietly.
The child, described by relatives as cheerful and respectful, should have been in school this week.
Instead, her family has been praying by her bedside, for signs of improvement.
“She’s my firstborn,” Mitchell, now a mother of three, said.
“She’s only 13. I had her at a young age. She did her exams and pass for the school of her choice; and now this.”
The stabbing has sent shock waves through the community and reignited concerns about the devastating impact of domestic violence on families and children.
Police said their investigations are ongoing.
Anyone willing to assist Josephine Mitchell can contact her at 876-590-7998.
Kemelia is now in a coma at KPH.
The prime suspect who is on the run