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11-y-o boy murdered; cops believe he was sodomised
HORACE HINES, Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Friday, November 14, 2008
Christopher Suckra
BLUE CASTLE, Westmoreland - When Keturah Bennett saw her 11-year-old son Christopher Levi Suckra off to school Wednesday morning, little did she know that it would be the last time she would be seeing him alive.
Early yesterday morning the naked, mutilated body of Christopher, a grade seven Petersfield High student, was discovered in a canefield in nearby Banbury. The head was bashed in and the police believe he had been sodomised.
"Me want me baby! Me want me baby!" the distraught mother wailed yesterday after she was informed that her beloved son had been found murdered. She said Christopher, though shy, was a very helpful child.
Syretta Suckra (left) consoles her mom Keturah Bennett at their home in Blue Castle, Westmoreland yesterday as they mourn the murder of Bennet's 11-year-old son, Christopher Suckra. (Photo: Horace Hines)
Eugene Spence, principal of Petersfield High, described Christopher as "a quiet and pleasant student".
Spence said the school community was shocked at the youngster's death. "We had to take one of the students from his classroom to the doctor this morning. They were very close and travelled to school together," the school principal told the Observer yesterday. We had to have had counselling sessions.
Students and teachers, she said, were traumatised by the boy's brutal murder, but were trying to cope.
Bennett, in the meantime, said her son's sudden death has also affected his older sister, Seyretta Suckra, who along with her had to be treated for stress-related illnesses.
Both mother and daughter had gone for medical treatment after Christopher's corpse was found by a search party. His bicycle was later found nearby.
Christopher's death pushes to 64, the number of children murdered this year.
A distraught Bennett said her son usually rode his bicycle part of the journey to school and then take a taxi. He did the same on his way back home.
She said he was usually home by 5:00 pm, therefore she was alarmed when at 6:00 pm Wednesday she did not see him. She immediately got on her bicycle and went in search of her son.
The distraught mother said she became more worried when one of Christopher's classmates told her that her son did not attend school that day and later found out that his bicycle was not left in the usual spot.
Her worries, said Bennett, were compounded by an incident the previous day in which a man who appeared to be of unsound mind ran out at her from an abandoned sugar estate farm house while she was riding her bicycle to a family member's house. However, she managed to get away from him.
It was in the same vicinity that her son's body was found. However, it was not clear last night if the police were trying to locate that man for questioning.
Yesterday, the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA) condemned the killing.
"We are still concerned about the level of children been attacked and we really want to know what is behind these attacks," said Georgia Garvey, the OCA's public relations officer. "Parents and the community need to bond even stronger to protect their children against criminal elements."
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HORACE HINES, Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Friday, November 14, 2008
Christopher Suckra
BLUE CASTLE, Westmoreland - When Keturah Bennett saw her 11-year-old son Christopher Levi Suckra off to school Wednesday morning, little did she know that it would be the last time she would be seeing him alive.
Early yesterday morning the naked, mutilated body of Christopher, a grade seven Petersfield High student, was discovered in a canefield in nearby Banbury. The head was bashed in and the police believe he had been sodomised.
"Me want me baby! Me want me baby!" the distraught mother wailed yesterday after she was informed that her beloved son had been found murdered. She said Christopher, though shy, was a very helpful child.
Syretta Suckra (left) consoles her mom Keturah Bennett at their home in Blue Castle, Westmoreland yesterday as they mourn the murder of Bennet's 11-year-old son, Christopher Suckra. (Photo: Horace Hines)
Eugene Spence, principal of Petersfield High, described Christopher as "a quiet and pleasant student".
Spence said the school community was shocked at the youngster's death. "We had to take one of the students from his classroom to the doctor this morning. They were very close and travelled to school together," the school principal told the Observer yesterday. We had to have had counselling sessions.
Students and teachers, she said, were traumatised by the boy's brutal murder, but were trying to cope.
Bennett, in the meantime, said her son's sudden death has also affected his older sister, Seyretta Suckra, who along with her had to be treated for stress-related illnesses.
Both mother and daughter had gone for medical treatment after Christopher's corpse was found by a search party. His bicycle was later found nearby.
Christopher's death pushes to 64, the number of children murdered this year.
A distraught Bennett said her son usually rode his bicycle part of the journey to school and then take a taxi. He did the same on his way back home.
She said he was usually home by 5:00 pm, therefore she was alarmed when at 6:00 pm Wednesday she did not see him. She immediately got on her bicycle and went in search of her son.
The distraught mother said she became more worried when one of Christopher's classmates told her that her son did not attend school that day and later found out that his bicycle was not left in the usual spot.
Her worries, said Bennett, were compounded by an incident the previous day in which a man who appeared to be of unsound mind ran out at her from an abandoned sugar estate farm house while she was riding her bicycle to a family member's house. However, she managed to get away from him.
It was in the same vicinity that her son's body was found. However, it was not clear last night if the police were trying to locate that man for questioning.
Yesterday, the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA) condemned the killing.
"We are still concerned about the level of children been attacked and we really want to know what is behind these attacks," said Georgia Garvey, the OCA's public relations officer. "Parents and the community need to bond even stronger to protect their children against criminal elements."
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