Last Monday started off as a regular day for Theresa Bennett. As evening approached, she welcomed her children home from school and among them was 10-year-old Tameka Thomas.

This week, however, Bennett is in a much different state of mind - she is confused, traumatised and flustered. She discovered the decomposing body of her daughter Tameka last Friday and though some time has passed, for her, it seems as though time is standing still.

She told THE STAR, "Mi jus traumatise, right now mi cyaan talk, mi cyaan do nuttin. Mi nah eat, mi nah sleep. Mi jus feel like mi a mad."

Tameka, who was a grade-four student of Freetown Primary School in Clarendon, is the latest child to fall prey to the clutches of predators.

grandmother's house

After coming home from school last Friday, she changed her clothing, ate her dinner and then told her mother she wanted to go to her grandmother's house to do her homework. Her mother told THE STAR that she advised Tameka to wait until her uncle got home before leaving for the district of Terrance in the parish, where her grandmother lives.

Bennett, however, said she had no idea that her daughter had left the house and only became aware of this fact after she began to call out to her without success. After realising that the child had not made it to her grandmother's house, Bennett launched a search. "Mi one search fi har from Monday and den mi go di police," she said.

An all-out search with the help of friends and relatives was launched last Wednesday and Bennett made the grim discovery on Friday morning. She said, "Mi find her miself. Me, her mother, mi find har a di back a di house wid maggot all over har body. Yu can imagine how me feel fi know seh a me find mi daughter?"

The 31-year-old mother of six is finding it hard to cope with the sudden death of her third child. She explained that her community of Inverness in Sandy Bay was a quiet one - one where no such incident had ever occurred before.

everybody traumatise

She has now left her home as she too fears for her life. She said, "Mi fraid. Jus like how dem kill mi pickney, dem can come kill mi too, day or night. A mi third child dem tek weh. She was a nice person, everybody traumatise." She explained that her eldest daughter, who is 15, is afraid to visit the community.

Bennett has no idea who would want to harm her child and the police have no leads in the case.

While she struggling to come to grips with the wretched act, Bennett is also hard-pressed to find the almost $200,000 needed to bury her child. She explained that her four-year-old often missed school because of a lack of finances and revealed that she also has a five-month-old baby.

Close to tears, she said, "Mi nuh have it, mi a go need 100 block, six length of steel, and six bag a cement. Mi nuh know how mi a go bury her. Mi might need likkle rum and likkle food fi cook. Mi nuh know how soon mi a go can do everything, but di sooner mi put har down, di better."

Bennett's father is also unable to find the required sum, and though her relatives have good intentions, they too are unable to help financially.

Anyone willing or able to contribute, may call her at 881-0312.