Nagra Plunkett, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU: THE FAMILY of the four-year-old Montego Bay girl abducted from school on Thursday afternoon by her stepfather, who later attempted to kill her before he was foiled by quick-thinking residents, is relieved that the youngster is alive today.
The bizarre incident, stemmed from a domestic affair in which the jilted lover, 35-year-old taxi operator Horace Denton of Pondside, Hanover, only recently estranged from the girl's mother, decided to kill the girl in an act of revenge over the break-up of the relationship.
"They had been having problems and whenever she told him she was leaving him, he would threaten to kill her," a family friend said. "On Sunday night they had a falling out and he tried to strangle her and she had to call for help from friends."
On the night of the incident, Denton's common-law wife and her children fled the home they shared, and sought refuge with relatives.
The Gleaner was told that Denton normally collected the little girl at the Montego Bay Infant School, but the family had informed the teacher on Monday that the child should not be released into his custody.
Denton reportedly took the girl from her class at 12:30 p.m., while the teacher went to get food for some students. He left with her in a car which he had borrowed from a friend in Hanover to carry passengers in the Lucea area.
The child's mother was notified and she made telephone contact with Denton, who admitted to taking the youngster. The mother tried unsuccessfully to get him to disclose his whereabouts with the child.
Later, at 3:30 p.m., he ended up on Cemetery Road in Roehampton, St. James. Residents saw him and reportedly became suspicious when he went into bushes with the four-year-old girl.
Further reports are that on their investigation, he was seen with his hands clasped around the girl's neck, choking her. They called out to him and he ran leaving the child. However the citizens chased him and he was cornered.
The little girl was taken to Cornwall Regional Hospital for medical attention and Denton chopped to death and the car torched. She was treated for minor injuries and released.
"Nobody getting the chance to come up here and get away with anything again. Just the other day (August) gunman kill a 14-year-old boy up here and injure him mother," a man commented. "No more strange vehicle caan come in here so again."
No arrests have been made in connection with the mob killing, which is being investigated by the Anchovy police.
