Teenage girl knifed to death in Berbice murder/suicide

JUST days before her 15th birthday, schoolgirl Tamesha La Toya Adams, called ‘Toya’, was knifed to death aback the home of her adoptive parents at Sisters Village, East Bank Berbice. She would have been 15 years old on June 13.

Adoptive parents Maureen and Robert Adams share an emotional embrace after the discovery of the lifeless body of their daughter yesterday

Twenty-three-year-old Kellon Sam after he was removed from a mango tree where he had hung himself

The motionless body of teenager, Tamesha La Toya Adams

Her 23-year-old boyfriend, Kellon Sam, nicknamed ‘Gadget’, who had lost his job at the Cement Factory three weeks ago, was found hanging from a mango tree, behind his parents’ residence, a stone-throw from where the lifeless body of the teenage girl was found.
Early yesterday morning, neighbour, Seeta Ramkarran left her house to attend to her flock of sheep penned in her backyard. But on approaching the sheep pen, she observed an unidentified person in her neighbour’s mango tree.
Unsure of who it was, she stepped backward to get a better view but, because of the position of the body, she was unable to identify the individual. She then called called to her neighbour ,Colvin, a younger sibling of the deceased, telling him that someone was hanging from the tree.
Ramkarran said initially he did not see, so he had to take his face and direct it to where the person was hung and when he saw, he began hollering: “Gadget! Is Gadget! Oh God!”
His is screams brought his parents and other villagers to the scene, and they all wailed at the sight of the man, who was described by relatives and friends as being quiet and mannerly.
It was the wails that subsequently caused the villagers to brave the heavy rainfall, as they rushed to where Sam had hanged himself.
Amongst those who hurried to the place was Marlyn Adams, the adoptive mother of Tamesha, who opted to use the shorter route behind her home in order to get to the Sams’ house. As her feet slithered on the muddy pathway, attempts were made to steady herself when she observed the lifeless body of her daughter lying on the ground.
“I recognised her feet; I knew it was her; I just could not go forward anymore. I hurried back home to my husband,” the woman said.
The teen suffered a deep wound to the right side of her neck, and a knife was also stuck into her chest.
According to the woman, it was during October last year that she became aware of her daughter’s relationship with the fellow villager.
“I spoke to her about the relationship, telling her that she was too young, and that she needed to focus on her school work. But my words fell on deaf ears; you know young people…” she lamented.
The woman recalled that a few months ago, the girl drank tablets for the same reason and had to be hospitalised. “She was performing fairly at school, and brought her report card to support her claim. During the last school term, Tamesha obtained 52.9 per cent. However, her teacher observed that she should talk less and read more,” Adams reported.
With her head tilted, Adams fondly recounted the last conversation she had with the teen, who had requested a bun. She told her to take the bun, and she left for work. She is a security guard at the Brothers’ Health Centre.
At a school meeting last week, La Toya had said she wanted to become an
Agriculturist, and intended to enter the Agriculture stream at the Berbice Educational Institute, where she is a student.
Meanwhile, the girl’s father, Robert Adams, remembered that after his wife left for work, he arrived home at 20:30hrs and found that their daughter was not at home, and a subsequent search in the village was fruitless. He remembered that the girl was adopted eight years ago when she was experiencing several challenges with her biological parents.
Over at the Sams’ house, Gordon Sam, father of the deceased told reporters that his son had been employed as a checker at the Cement Factory. But three weeks ago, his services were terminated without a cause.
Apart from that, he had a girlfriend named Connie Benn who died at the New Amsterdam Hospital after an unsuccessful appendectomy surgery about three months ago.
“I did not know about this girlfriend; I guess his mother had known,” the father said, remarking that young people tell their mothers everything.

AN ARGUMENT
He said that following his son’s death, he was informed that Tamesha had the name of another young man written on her body, which had resulted in an argument.

The man said: “My son worked for $60,000 per month; he never contributed much to the home, so I guess this girl would get his money. I suppose he was frustrated after losing his job… maybe the other girlfriend, and then on learning that this girl was seeing someone else was too much for him to handle.
“But I never knew; I never knew,” the father confessed, regretting the death of one of his five children.
Another villager, fondly referred to as ‘Cousin Maylene’, recalled hearing Tamesha’s voice just after 21:00hrs saying the door was locked.
The elderly woman said that thereafter, she retired to bed as she assumed it was the teen and her father who were having a conversation. “Is this morning I realised that is dead the child dead,” the woman said.
Other villagers told reporters that the teen, who had a roadside confectionery stall, was allowed to have her own way for too long. They claimed that despite several reports to the parents about the teenager’s deviant
behaviour, their words fell on deaf ears; they were in denial. As a matter of fact, the couple was too old to manage that teenager effectively, they said about the Adams who are both in their sixties.
The bodies of Kellon Sam and Tamesha La Toya Adams are currently at the Arokium Funeral Home awaiting post mortem examinations.
Written By Jeune Bailey-Vankeric