A RULING IN the hanging death 12-year-old Shemar Weekes will be given on Monday, Coroner Manila Renee announced this afternoon.
The coroner had just wrapped up hearing evidence in the matter with the reading of Julianne Weekes’ statement to the police three days after the incident at Fryers Well, Checker Hall, St Lucy. Julieanne, reportedly the only one present when the hanging took place on May 14, 2015, did not take the stand during the hearing of the matter which began on June 27.
Instead, Station Sergeant Anthony Cadogan read an eight-page statement which he recorded from Julieanne on May 17, because she was too traumatised and he had other cases that he was investigating.
From the statement, which was not challenged by Julieanne, the court heard that she and Shemar had a good relationship until he entered secondary school and started giving her “back chat”. For that she flogged him with her hand but was never “excessive in my mode of punishment”.
The day he died, according to Julieanne’s statement, Shemar appeared normal and not depressed and when he returned home he ate before going outside. About the time the 7 p.m. news started Shemar returned to say he wanted bread and from her bed she told him to bathe first at which he became annoyed, gave her “back chat” but quickly went into the shower within her bedroom.
Afterwards Shemar left closing the door and she got up, went to the door but could not get out because Shemar was holding the knob leading to a tug-o-war before it jammed. Remembering that she had a knife in the wardrobe Julieanne used it to force open the door 15 minutes later, read the station sergeant.
She looked for Shemar under the bed in the living room where he would hide from her but found him in the backyard sitting on a bucket at which point she told him about his behaviour as well as instructed him to go inside but he did not move.
“I left and went back in the bedroom and continued watching the news. Shemar came to the bedroom window and call me. I look at him and told him to come in the house but he refused. I remained in the bedroom on the bed for about ten minutes more before I went outside in the yard to see what Shemar was doing. When I got at the back door I saw Shemar with the drawstring bag around his neck, I immediately held on to him and remove the string from his neck and bring him in the house and placed him on the floor on his back. He was not making any sound and I became afraid. I had called my boyfriend Shawn Greaves and told him what had happened,” Station Sergeant Cadogan read.
Shawn told her he was by a Bigga shop, quickly arrived and began CPR on Shemar while she called the ambulance. When the ambulance personnel arrived and hooked up Shemar to a machine they said that he was gone already meaning he had died, the policeman read. Â
Julieanne in that statement said she never sounded any alarm because she did not get along with her neighbours. Shemar, she said in the statement had mentioned committing suicide about twice but she did not take him seriously and Greaves only told her after the incident that Shemar mentioned suicide that morning.
“I did not strangle my son. I did not see anyone strangle my son,” she told police in the statement.
The court had heard from at least 16 witnesses including relatives, neighbours, police, a pathologist and Child Care Board officials. (AC)
