Senior Reporter
Today should have been a day of excitement for 12-year-old Mercedez Layne and her schoolmates on a trip to the Mt St Benedict Monastery in St Augustine. Instead, her classmates and teachers will join her family in mourning her death after the missing Erin schoolgirl was found dead near an oil well yesterday morning, in another tragic case of violence against a child that has outraged the country.
A frantic search for the Standard Four St Francis Erin RC Primary School student ended in horror yesterday, when her partially nude body was discovered off Carapal Road, Erin.
Meanwhile, the T&T Police Service (TTPS) last night revealed that a suspect was in custody in connection with the child’s killing.
The discovery confirmed the worst fears of her father, Ronald Cabrera, who said he sensed something was terribly wrong from the moment he learned she had disappeared on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking at his Erin home yesterday, Cabrera struggled to hold back tears as he spoke about his daughter. He recalled receiving a call shortly before 4 pm on Saturday from one of Mercedez’s older sisters, asking whether the child was at his home.
Cabrera, who was not there at the time, was told that Mercedez had spent some time with her elder sister at Lorensotte Trace. Her sister’s grandfather had placed her in a purple wagon to travel the five-minute journey home to Los Iros Road. Hours later, there was still no sign of her.
Cabrera said he immediately became concerned and filed a report with the Erin police.
“Honestly, in my mind, I already knew to expect the worst because it was not a kidnapping. I really have nothing, so who is going to kidnap any of my children? Automatically, I already knew, oh gosh, if you do not find this little child, it is deceased,” Cabrera said. Police officers, volunteers and members of Sham’s Hunters’ Search and Rescue Team joined in the search effort, combing several areas throughout Saturday night.
As he stood outside a shop yesterday morning, Cabrera said a resident approached him with troubling news. Workers who had gone to check on an oil well had reportedly stumbled upon a body and alerted police.
Cabrera immediately went to the police station and then to the scene, where his worst fears were realised.
“My daughter was in a jersey alone; no other pieces of clothing. I am sure she was dealt with in a very violent manner because she was beaten on the head. In my mind, it is the only reason there was blood pouring from her ears. Apparently, she fought with them, and they just decided, okay.”
The grieving father described Mercedez as a shy child who recoiled from the touch of strangers and was comfortable only around family members.
“Some sick bastard killed my daughter. She was found only with her top on. That little child is small.”
Cabrera said people often believe justice exists within the system, but argued that it offers little comfort to parents forced to bury a child. While expressing appreciation for the efforts of officers who responded to the report and mobilised search teams, he said he could not sit back and wait for answers. Cabrera said he does not believe his daughter was her killers’ first victim. Speaking through tears, he said the loss of his daughter was almost impossible to comprehend.
“It really is a heartrending situation. I look at my little daughter, who hasn’t even started life yet. It is like my daughter had been ostracised, and because of it, I feel ostracised. There is no way I am going to play a good boy. I am saying it openly, I am not going to stop looking for these gentlemen.”
He recalled the last conversation he had with his daughter a week ago, when she called asking him to bring chicken. The memory now remains one of the final moments he shared with her.
Soon after news began to circulate that the child was missing, however, residents shared information with police investigators. Police said this information helped them find the suspect’s vehicle, which was found abandoned along Beach Road, Palo Seco, around 1 am yesterday. And with the help of CCTV footage they also received, officers were also able to piece together the events just before Mercedez left her grandfather’s community.
Communities must protect children
Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Shamshudeen Ayube, commander of the volunteer search and rescue team, said members joined police and residents in searching for the child from Saturday night.
Information received during the search eventually led teams to focus on the Carapal Road area as officers conducted an extensive operation.
After hours of searching throughout the night, teams resumed their efforts around 5.30 am yesterday. Ayube said the outcome was especially difficult for members of the search team. Recalling the successful recovery of another missing child in the area several years ago, he said this search unfortunately ended in tragedy.
As a search and rescue organisation dedicated to finding missing people, Ayube said communities must become more vigilant in protecting children.
“Our foreparents protected us, and we grew up and reached maturity. We have to do the same thing for these young children, so we are asking people in and around our communities: let us be more responsible in saying things, doing things towards these little children. “They are our future, and if you destroy them from an early age, we don’t know what we will produce in the future, so let us hope and pray that we can be more vigilant,” Ayube said.
Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has expressed condolences to the child’s family, describing the incident as a tragedy that has shaken the nation.
In a statement yesterday, Beckles said, “This devastating news of her death has shocked and saddened the entire country. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, schoolmates, teachers at Erin RC School, and the wider Erin community as they confront an unimaginable loss.”
She also thanked members of the Police Service (TTPS), the search and rescue team, volunteers and other citizens who assisted in the search. Beckles said the incident highlighted the need for stronger measures to protect children and improve public safety.
“The apparent rise in incidents involving missing and abducted children in recent months warrants urgent and coordinated action by the State to strengthen child protection measures, improve public safety systems, and enhance community awareness.”
Beckles urged parents and guardians to remain vigilant and pay close attention to the safety and whereabouts of their children. She called on citizens to support law enforcement efforts to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations president Walter Stewart yesterday said it was another sad day for the nation, as citizens mourned the loss of another child.
Extending condolences to Mercedez’s family, friends and schoolmates, Stewart said, “No words can adequately comfort a family grieving the loss of a loved one under such heartbreaking circumstances. As parents, educators and citizens, we share in the sadness that has today engulfed this family and community. While the circumstances surrounding this tragedy continue to be examined, it serves as a painful and timely reminder of the collective responsibility we all bear to safeguard our nation’s gems: our children,” Stewart said.
He added, “Our children do not deserve this. They deserve to learn, grow and travel within communities feeling safe, protected and secure.”
