Trinidad prepares final goodbye for  4-year-old Jemimah who was beaten to death by her stepfather

Trinidad and Tobago: Beetham community prepares to say a heartbreaking and final goodbye to 4-year-old Jemimah Bonaparte who died on Thursday, October 9 after suffering physical abuse in the hand of her stepfather Tyrell Williams.

According to eyewitnesses, on Thursday, October 9, in the Sea Lots community, Williams took an unresponsive 4-year-old Jemimah to the Mt. Hope Hospital, claiming he had found her in that condition and immediately contacted Emergency Health Services.

Jemimah was then checked, but despite the doctors attempts to resuscitate her, the child was pronounced dead at 6:07 p.m. It was later found that Williams had disappeared soon after handing over the child to the medical staff.

The police immediately launched an investigation into the 4-year-old’s death and uncovered that both Jemimah and her mother had suffered repeated physical abuse at the hands of Williams. As the mother was in an abusive relationship with the child’s stepfather.

Jemimah’s body was then taken for an autopsy after the autopsy at Mt. Hope Hospital, revealed that the 4-year-old has unusual marks observed on her body.

On October 17, a forensic autopsy from the Forensic Science Centre (FSC) confirmed that Jemima’s untimely death stemmed from shock and hemorrhage caused by severe blunt force trauma to the head, which led to a traumatic cerebral injury, severe brain damage caused by violent impact.

The autopsy findings sent shockwaves through her Beetham Gardens community who had reportedly chased away the stepfather.

As a relative told officers that Williams went to the  police station after the incident but after returning back to the Sea Lots area, he was chased away by angry residents.

The case has been referred to the Region 1 Homicide Bureau of Investigations as the police continue their search for Tyrell Williams who is reportedly on the run in connection with Jemimah’s killing.

While the Beetham community prepares to say their final goodbyes to little Jemimah on Friday, October 31, hundreds of citizens of Trinidad and Tobago have taken to Facebook to express their shock and condemn the tragic death of the 4-year-old in the hand of her stepfather with many blaming the child’s mother for not taking action to protect her child.

One user named Adrian Khan wrote, “Rest in peace baby girl just imagine I as a big man cry seeing this happen so so hard to see this may u fly high princess and may who ever did this never see the day of light again so sorry to see this.” Another local named Tracy said, “These images are too hurtful to look at. Everyone failed that sweet innocent child.”