St James mother, daughter laid to rest

There was no shortage of tears on Sunday as family members and well-wishers filled the Farm Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church in St James to say goodbye to Deon Smith and her daughter, Jay-Shenel Gordon, who were brutally murdered on September 23.

According to reports, 43-year-old Smith was stabbed multiple times by her common-law husband, Fabian Lyewsang, during an argument at their home in Rose Heights. Lyewsang then went to Gordon's room and slashed the teenager's throat while she slept.

During Sunday's service, which was presided over by Pastor Glen Samuels of the West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (WJC), and Pastor Joel Haye of the Northern Caribbean University Church, friends and relatives of the mother and daughter could not contain their grief and tears amid the outpouring of musical tributes.

Apart from the tributes from family members, remembrances came from students of the Herbert Morrison Technical High School, where Gordon was a student, and the Rubis Service Station in Montego Bay, where Smith worked as a supervisor. There was also music from the Green Heights Assembly of God congregation, where Smith was a member.

LOVING AND SUPPORTIVE

During Smith's eulogy, cousin Kimberley Kennedy-Walters remembered her as a loving mother who would do anything for her children.

"Deon was a very loving and supportive mother who would go the extra mile for her children. She was a gem, a rare stone with a heart of gold, and even though she was jovial, free-spirited and down to earth, she took the time to form a relationship with God," Kennedy-Walters said of Smith, who was affectionately called 'Lesha'.

In presenting Gordon's eulogy, aunt Annia Codling noted that 'Norian', as she was often called, was a humble and respectful young woman.

"Jay-Shenel was always a humble child. She was a brilliant, hard-working and determined student," Codling said of her niece. "Her demeanour was respectful, and she never displayed arrogance no matter what you said to her."

The mother and daughter were later interred at Dovecot Memorial Park.