UPDATE | Counselling for relatives of slain nine-year-old girl found in barrel

The state-run Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says it has activated counselling support for the relatives of nine-year-old Kelsey Ferrigon, whose body was found stuffed in a barrel at her home in Spanish Town, St Catherine, on Friday.

The agency said a first-response team was immediately dispatched after the child’s 16-year-old brother made the discovery around 8 p.m. at their Job Lane residence.

The mother and her three surviving children — aged 16, 6, and 3 — have also been referred to the Ministry of Justice’s Victim Services Division for grief counselling beginning Monday, CPFSA said in a statement on Saturday.

“This family is fractured by grief and trauma. The surviving children, especially, will now have to grow up without their sister and with the haunting memory of what they have lost. We will do everything in our power to support them,” said CPFSA CEO Laurette Adams-Thomas in a statement on Saturday.

Adams-Thomas also condemned what she described as the “heinous murder” of the child, whose partially nude body bore signs of physical abuse. Police strongly suspect she was also sexually assaulted.

“This deeply disturbing incident is a chilling reminder of some of the horrific dangers that some of our children face every day. It pains my heart to think that a young girl, full of potential and promise, could be taken from this world in such a cruel and inhumane way,” the agency head said, describing the child’s death as a “desecration of innocence” that “shakes us to our very core”.

The CPFSA said it was “horrified” that the killing happened in the child's home, the place “where she should have felt most safe". It also noted that the tragedy had unfolded during child month, a time when national attention should be focused on safeguarding children.

Investigators have named a person of interest, Giovanni Ellis, otherwise called ‘Coolie Man’, in connection with the killing. The Ministry of National Security is offering a $2-million reward for information leading to his capture.

The agency has again urged Jamaicans not to remain silent when they suspect abuse. “Call our 24-hour hotline 211 and make a report; you may just save a life,” Adams-Thomas pleaded.

The Opposition People’s National Party also condemned the murder, calling it “an affront to our collective humanity”.

“This is a devastating and deeply disturbing incident that has shaken our nation to its core,” said Opposition Spokesperson on Gender, Disabilities and Inclusion Denise Daley, Member of Parliament for St Catherine Eastern. “We have to reemphasise the village raising the child. Every adult has a role to play… from the neighbour who checks in, to the teacher who listens, to the stranger who speaks up when something feels wrong.”

Daley called for a shift from grief to action. “This cannot be business as usual. Let this be the moment we say: never again.”

Lobby group Hear the Children’s Cry warned that atrocities against children had taken on “unimaginable decadence”. Director Nigel Cooper said that unless effective action is taken, such crimes will continue to haunt the country.

Attorney Priscilla Duhaney, also of the group, said Jamaican society is becoming too desensitised to child violence. “We cannot only empathise from a distance — we need to draw near with action and an undeniable presence,” she said.

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang called the murder an “unspeakable act of evil” and has directed Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake to use all available resources to locate the suspect. Assistant Commissioner of Police Wayne Josephs said law enforcement is “fully mobilised”.

The police are asking anyone with information to call 119, Crime Stop at 311, or the Spanish Town Police at 876-984-2305.

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