Woman’s body left to the elements as Beryl raged

GREEN ISLAND, Hanover — As those who could do so sought shelter inside, Kayon Sterling’s body was on the ground.

She was fatally struck by a falling tree about 2:30 pm on Wednesday, but with Hurricane Beryl on the way, her body remained there overnight. Distraught neighbours and relatives finally removed her corpse on Thursday.

When the Jamaica Observer visited the community, Sterling’s cousin Cleveland Thompson was still struggling to understand why she had been outside in the first place. He is also her landlord.

According to residents, Sterling went outside to figure out why her Internet service stopped working. She died on a hillside, a short distance away from the service line that leads along a dirt track to her house.

“You si when mi guh ah heaven or hell, mi ah guh ask her why she haffi guh up deh suh guh check wire. Si di wire yah that guh roun’ to her house. So, cuz, why you have to go round deh suh, cuz? Why she haffi guh up deh suh?” a bereft Thompson asked rhetorically.

“Only God alone can tell, and she. But may her soul rest in peace,” he added.

Residents said after the wind picked up shortly after 2:00 pm, Sterling, who is a hotel employee, lost service and reportedly asked one of her sons to check what was happening with the Internet. He reportedly refused to go outside in the storm. Around 2:30 pm, Sterling went outside to investigate the problem when she was struck by an uprooted tree. She died on the spot.

Sterling, a hotel employee, was one of a number of individuals who rented housing spots on several acres of land Thompson owns. He evacuated ahead of the storm and said he encouraged others to do the same. Some, including his cousin, did not listen.

“I felt it when I heard that one of my tenants died. I could not believe it and was wondering which one of them. When I came here yesterday in the afternoon and saw what was going on, I could not believe that it was her,” stated Thompson.

“When I came around here, I saw several policemen, firemen, soldiers, power saw men, and all kind ah men around here. When they moved the trash and tree from around her and I saw that it was her, boy, I had to walk away,” he told the Observer.

His cousin’s death has been compounded by the indignity of her body remaining on the spot overnight, during the storm. It was removed Thursday morning between 9:00 and 10:00 after residents, tired of waiting, decided to take matters into their own hands.

“The firemen and the police them did a good job, but [due to] the condition of the weather, they could not pull through and take her away. Last night she was around here in the rain and a while ago ah problem fi carry her out [to the main road],” said Thompson.

He said he and his friends cleared away fallen trees to create a passage along the dirt road and foot path that leads to and from the area.

“And all then, nobody don’t come for her. We had to carry her out on board,” Thompson said incredulously.

However, he made it clear that he was not blaming anyone because he understands the weather conditions that were at hand.

“It is the first [time] that we saw somebody dead, and if we never lick out, the body would have been there the same way… Everybody come take pictures and the girl lay down. Bwoy, Jamaica ah run ah way, mi nah lie. Wi haffi change up,” appealed Thompson.

Sterling, who does housekeeping at a Negril hotel, had rented a house spot from Thompson for the past two-and-a-half years.

“She’s a good girl. She’s my family. She is a trying and ambitious girl,” stated Thompson who noted that she was someone who would get things done.

“She’s serious. She is a girl who will work an iron fork. She will cut down trees. She is a brave girl and I respect her. She is my family for life. She’s a real young and good girl,” he added. (Jamaica Observer)