‘A father who wanted to see his kids smile’ - Daughter hails Jamaican vendor killed in Trinidad

The family of Neil Johnson, the Jamaican jerk vendor who was murdered in Trinidad and Tobago on December 16, is finding it difficult to accept that he is gone. Johnson, 46, has lived in the twin-island republic for the past 14 years. He fathered 10 children.

"His death will affect the rest of our lives; especially for my little siblings. There's so much he has done, and so much he isn't going to be able to do. It's just a lot to accept and it will be very sad to move on without him," Angel Johnson Colman, the eldest child, told THE STAR.

According to the Trinidad and Tobago police, Johnson, who operated a jerk chicken cart, was in the company of another man at the world-famous Brian Lara Promenade, when they were approached by an armed man. The gunman fired several shots in the direction of the men before running off.

Johnson, who was hit, died at hospital the next day. The Trinidad and Tobago police have since charged Kadeem Williams, of Tilbury Street, Laventille, Trinidad, with his murder.

Recalling the night she got the news of her father's death, Angel said, "When I got the picture and video of my daddy laying there unconscious and can't help himself, I couldn't help but cry. Me cyaa come to the acceptance that daddy dead; and to know he wasn't sick, he was murdered," she bemoaned.

"I feel it more for my younger siblings who will grow up without him. If he wasn't playing his role as a father, we would still feel it that he died, but to know we were close to him, and were connected, it's harder to move on," she said.

Angel said her father loved his 10 children dearly. She added that his death is still surreal.

"My dad was present; he was not an absentee father. He was always there. He's in all of us lives - all of us have good to say about him. He's very hard-working ... A father who wants to see his kids smile. He always worked hard to give us anything we need," Angel said.

Close bond

According to Angel, despite her father's migration to Trinidad, he maintained a close bond with his children. She said that he visited them in their home town of Denbigh, Clarendon, during holidays, and planned trips for his family to visit him.

"When we go to Trinidad, him make sure we get every little niceness. He likes when we have things," she said, adding that he sacrificed a lot to ensure that she attained a tertiary education.

"He wanted us to have good character and get a good education, and I really appreciate that about him."

In addition to being a jerk vendor, Johnson was a welder and football enthusiast.

"He was a famous football referee back in the day. He was a referee for a lot of football matches, even at daCosta Cup matches," Angel said. She told THE STAR that plans are under way to have her father's body flown to Jamaica for burial.