Grandmother seeks justice in toddler’s death

THE PATERNAL grandmother of a three-year-old, who died at the hands of his mother, continues to grieve for the child she raised and doesn’t feel that justice has been served fully.

Rocita ‘Donica’ Jack of Park Hill raised Leron Keran LJ Jack Junior since he was three months old.

ROCITA ‘DONICA’ Jack

This fact was noted at the High Court on March 13, when Diana Caine, the child’s mother, was sentenced for the manslaughter of her son. Caine, a South Rivers resident was initially indicted for murder, but she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, and this was accepted by the prosecution.

She was sentenced to spend a total of six years, eight months in jail, of which she has already spent approximately two years, and a half years.

The paternal grandmother, 48, said she cried every day after she heard the news of her grandson’s death.

On August 24, 2017, the day that the toddler was killed from blunt force trauma to the head, Rocita was working on a cruise ship as she had been doing to support her own five children for years. The post mortem also revealed that the toddler had swelling and bruises on his face, hands and buttocks, and the facts show that it was a case of excessive corporal punishment.

“All she (Caine) do is feel pain to bring him (Jack Jr) in the world,” the grandmother noted, saying that it was she who took care of Jack Junior, who would have been six years old in January.

Recalling when she first took him into her care, Rocita stated “When I go to see the child, the child… sorry to say this, but the child was like you know what these children, what they does bring up on TV, in Africa, Ethiopia, just like that the child did look.”

She said holding the baby was as if she was holding nothing in her hands.

“I spend money pon that child, believe me, I spend money pon that child, to bring him back pon he foot,” she said as she cried, “To supply him like my own child, like I birth him.”

“Believe me it does hurt me so much,” she said.

“The dream, what I did want for that child, and to give him, me ah tell you, he didn’t live, he didn’t live to get the dream what I want for him,” the grandmother disclosed, who noted that Jack Jr was a smart and special boy.

On the day of the incident, her son, the toddler’s father, had left Jack Jr with his mother in order to go to his job. Rocita was also working.

The toddler was not supposed to stay with Caine permanently, and her other children were not staying with her either, causing the grandmother to wonder why she had to do what she did.

When she heard the sentence that Caine received, the grandmother stated that she thought, “It’s not right. In St Vincent here people need to get their justice, they really need to get their justice.”

She feels that the message the justice system is sending is that “is like to give people permission to kill people and is like nothing happen.”

“Watch how so many people are getting used and abused and losing their life in St Vincent here. People need to stand up and fight, and give people their justice when they take one another life,” she stated.