Dying mom sends heartfelt message to her kids

Donovan Williams stood at his common-law wife's bedside at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine on Wednesday night and watched helplessly as she took her last breath.

His partner of over 22 years, Nickeisha Pottinger, was fighting for her life and doctors were feverishly trying to save her. She was among two persons from the Homestead area in the parish who were attacked Wednesday, the latest victims of a flare-up in gun violence that is threatening to bring the old capital to its knees. Despite the best efforts of the medics, Pottinger died.

A grief-stricken Williams shared that Pottinger, with whom he shares five children, gave him a very important message to deliver to her children.

"She say, 'Tell di kids dem say mi love dem, and remember di promise weh yuh give me 15 years ago'," said Williams with tears running down his cheek. He explained that the promise was "that I will never allow myself nor the children to get caught up in violence ,[due to the violence that often plagues the area] and I have been trying to shield them from it ever since."

Pottinger was shot at her gate while taking to a relative. Williams described her as a loving mother who made it her life's duty to care for her children. He told THE WEEKEND STAR that her loss will now make it difficult to celebrate Father's Day on Sunday.

"I am always busy because I do mechanic work, so the bulk of the parenting is carried out by her. She never show mi one bad side yet as a parent. She is one of the best mothers and losing her is the worst possible gift one could ask for before Father's Day," she said.

"[She is] a good woman, always looking out for others even when she don't have anything to give. She always a tell her kids that a kindness and manners bring people through the world," he said.

Hours before Pottinger's shooting, the body of Ricardo Gardner was found on the back seat of a Toyota Probox wrapped up in a tarpaulin, in Portmore Villas, also in St Catherine. The body of another man, only identified as Blacks, was also discovered.

Gardner's common-law-wife, Diana Davis, said he was not involved in any gang activities.

"War a gwan in yah and him no business. Him no inna no war or conflict weh me know of, cause a him try keep the peace sometimes inna di community. Him always a talk to the man dem say dem fi behave themselves, because a one likkle community," she said. Davis said that she last saw Gardner on Tuesday night before he lefth with a friend. She now regrets not getting a chance to say goodbye.

"Mi always beg God say, if him dead, no fi mek mi shed no tears. But from mi get the call mi no stop cry because him did good to me regardless of the differences weh wi have every now and then. When him a leave out a the yard, him just step right past me and not even tell me say him a head out. But a so wi gwan when wi vex wid each other, but him always come back," she said.

Residents have theorised that the killings are related to the criminal infighting. Despite the increased presence of the security forces, residents say they are still in fear as rival gangs continue to battle in the area. The tension was evident yesterday when the news team visited the community, as many of the residents were reluctant to speak.