Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer
Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer: National Security Minister Peter Phillips (right) talks with Sonia Williams, the mother of the three children who were murdered in Kilancholly in St. Mary last week. Mr Phillips visited the home Tuesday.
OCHO RIOS, St. Ann: GOVERNMENT WILL be providing both financial support and counselling for the family of the three children murdered in Kilancholly in St. Mary last Friday.
This assurance was given by Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Senator Floyd Morris, during a visit to the home of the victims in the district on Tuesday. He was part of a multi-sectoral government team which went to the area to offer assistance to Michael and Sonia Williams, the parents of the murdered children.
He said that in addition to taking care of some of the funeral expenses, the ministry through the PATH programme will be ensuring that other assistance will be made available to the parents.
"What we intend to do is, as part of our Social Intervention Strategy, to get some assistance to the family through the PATH programme and assist with the burial," Senator Morris said. "We are just awaiting the expenditure from the family. Then we will inform them of the amount of money we will be offering them."
THE LARGER COMMUNITY
Director of the PATH programme, Trevor Smith, and a team of employees, were then instructed by Senator Morris to begin registering members of the family for the programme. He said PATH will also be extending this assistance to other members of the community.
National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips, who was accompanied by Senator Morris, used the occasion to reassure the parents of the murdered children that the police will be doing all that is necessary to bring those responsible for the crime to justice.
Early Friday morning, Mrs. Williams came home from church to find three of her children 15-year-old Dwayne Davidson, 13-year-old Sue-Ann Gordon and 4-year-old Shanice Williams with multiple stab wounds and their throats cut. Mrs. Williams made an alarm and residents of the area rushed the children to the Annotto Bay Hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Holding the bereaved mother in his arms inside her two-
bedroom board house, Dr. Phillips offered emotional support.
MORAL SUPPORT
"We know that it is hard but we will be there for you," he said. The minister told Mrs. Williams that a team from the ministry, along with a team from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, will be working with the family to provide both financial and moral support in order to try and ease some of their suffering.
He said, however, that the police will be relying on the cooperation of the residents to succeed in their investigations.
"This shows that all is not lost in Jamaica and that there are still some people who really care," Mrs. Williams said.
Her husband, Michael Williams, had little to say. Holding the sole survivor of the bloody attack, 16-month-old Jahmeal, in his arms, he reported that he had another problem to deal with.
One of his brothers, Clifton Williams, who had promised to come over and assist him, was shot and wounded at the Nubian Construction building site in Montego Bay early on Tuesday morning.
