A teen’s tragic tale - Alecia’s future hangs in the balance after burn attack

When Alecia King left her Red Hills Road, St Andrew, home three years ago to live with relatives in Time and Patience, Linstead, St Catherine, she was hoping to weather a terrible storm and put herself on a firm foundation from which she could launch into adulthood.

Unfortunately, King's journey had been marked by profound loss. Within a relatively short period, she had experienced the heartache of losing both her parents--first her father from cancer, followed by her mother from diabetes in 2020. During this trying period, Julian Mendez, a woman with a familial connection to King through her father's shared children, offered her support and a place in their lives.

Mendez, who already had a connection with King due to her visits before the passing of her parents, explained that her own daughter had promised to care for King in her mother's absence, a promise she upheld.

"Her mother and I were close. My other daughter was at the hospital when her mother died and she told her she would take care of Ali, so she did that," the stepmother said.

After relocating to Linstead, St Catherine, King enrolled at Dinthill Technical High School, where she excelled academically. She had aspirations of becoming a soldier and had recently taken the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations. Her plan was to continue her education at the sixth form level. However, these aspirations have been cast into uncertainty after a tragic incident last Thursday. She was set ablaze while sleeping at a home in Redwood, St Catherine in which she was babysitting.

The police have listed Antwone Grey, her ex-boyfriend, as a suspect in the dastardly act. Grey, 18, otherwise known as 'Badfowl' and 'Bright', is the nephew of Mendez.

"I am very sorry for everything that happened. She didn't deserve any of this and the person who did this to her is very wicked. I am urging him to turn himself in to the police. I was the one who gave her permission to go by the house where the incident happened because the house belong to my brother. It's a house where all of us would usually go," Mendez told THE STAR.

King was reportedly in a relationship with Grey, but moved on after he declared he was no longer interested in her. Mendez insists that King was there only because she was assisting in taking care of the child.

"Ask anyone in the community and they will tell you that Ali is not a bad child. She is just like the typical teenager. She is a very beautiful girl and if I don't tell people is not my birth daughter they wouldn't know. Mi and her mother were good friends too, and she has been coming around us before her mom died. I am just really sorry about what happened," Mendez added.

The incident scene revealed a grim reality--a burnt mattress and walls stained with soot spoke of the tragedy that had occurred there. Local residents were sympathetic, describing King as a kind-hearted person who didn't deserve such a fate.

"Mi feel sorry fi di little girl. Is not long time she come here and she very nice looking. She is an original browning and she never deserve dis, enuh," a resident of Redwood said.

The Sanmerna Foundation is trying to help the family raise funds to transport King overseas for treatment.

Anyone who can assist detectives locate Antwone Grey is being asked to contact the Linstead Police Station at 876-985-2285 or 876-985-9070, the 119 police emergency number or the nearest police station.