‘I feel their pain’ - Mother of slain Trelawny schoolboy offers support to parents of murdered Kingston Technical schoolgirl

Natanish Roach felt a gut-wrenching pain last Thursday when she heard about the death of Kingston Technical High School (KTHS) student Michion Campbell, who was stabbed by another student with whom she had a dispute.

Roach, who lives in Trelawny, said that the news of Campbell's demise took her back to the worst day in her life -- March 21, 2022 -- when her son, Khamal Hall, was stabbed to death at William Knibb Memorial High School by another student.

"The whole memory of what happened to my son come right back to mi," Roach told THE STAR during an interview yesterday.

"Cold bump cover mi, and mi jus a sweat suh. The pain mi feel then mek mi belly gripe, and mi jus see Khamal lidung dead," Roach said.

Khamal 16, a gifted athlete who kept goal for his school, was stabbed to death following a dispute over a guard ring. Six months later, Campbell, a grade-11 student at KTHS, was stabbed to death by a female schoolmate following a dispute on the school grounds.

Roach, despite not knowing Campbell's parents, said she can imagine what they are going through.

"It is hard, and I feel their pain," said the mother, adding, "God will tek care of it all."

While shaking her head as she reflected on her son's life, Roach said that is it hard for any parent who sends their child to school to accept that he has been killed in a learning institution.

"Mi nuh stop look pon him medal an' trophy dem. Mi nuh cry, but mi eyes full up a water. When mi look pon him picture mi feel like him nuh dead," she said.

Roach, a housekeeper in a public health facility, said that school administrators should find ways to prevent weapons being smuggled into schoolyards. She said that administrators struggle daily as they try to keep up with "evil" children, who repeatedly find ways to breach security systems.

"Nowadays pickney dem too evil. Dem pass the weapon through the fence an pass security clean. Cameras have to be all along the fence," she opined.

The 16-year-old student accused of Khamal's murder is set to appear in court on October 24. Yesterday, the police charged the 17-year-old schoolgirl who is accused of Campbell's killing with murder. She was charged Monday afternoon following a question and answer session. She will appear before the Corporate Area Criminal Court on Friday.