Stephanie Elliott, Gleaner Writer
STEWART
MAY PEN, Clarendon:
APPARENTLY DEPRESSED by his mental illness, 28-year-old Rickman Stewart, of Chateau district, Clarendon, took his own life on January 9, leaving his entire family distraught.
According to relatives, Stewart became somewhat of a loner, after his illness was diagnosed. They claimed he had made an attempt to kill himself before, six years ago, shortly after the diagnosis, but he was saved by a neighbour.
His mother, Cinderella Brown, told The Gleaner of her final moments with her son, the last of her eight children.
Ms. Brown said her son ironed the clothes she wore to church the day he killed himself. On her return from church, at approximately 9:30 p.m., she knocked on the door to his room several times, but there was no response. Thinking her son to be sound asleep, she called her nephew who lives nearby to assist her in getting into house.
In tears, Ms. Brown explained, "Mi nephew go inside and him come back out and him look shock, so mi ask him what wrong and him just hang down him head." She went inside and to her horror found her son hanging by a rope. "Mi cut him down quick, because him body did still hot," she said, describing her futile attempt at saving Rickman's life. Pinned to his body was a note to his mother stating, 'Mom, I am sorry. Goodbye.'
SOCIAL LIFE
Ms. Brown said her son's social life changed subsequent to the discovery of his illness. Stewart, however, did not totally depend on his family, as he would take the monthly journey alone to the Denbigh Hospital for his medication. She said that two months ago, he refused to continue his treatment. She blamed his refusal to take his medication for the suicide. "Maybe if mi did carry him miself this wouldn't happen," she lamented.
Stewart's sisters, Janet and Marcia, remember their brother as a kind, loving and helpful individual, who was not hampered by his inability to talk. With the help of a hearing aid, they said their brother attended a school for the handicapped where he excelled in art and craft. He later taught the subject and sign language at the same institution.
Police reports confirm his relatives' claim. No foul play is suspected.
