THREE days after stabbing his reputed wife to death, 51-year-old Clarence Carter has been charged for the indictable offence and appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. He was not required to plead to the offence and will be returning to court in Linden on February 2. The charge read that on January 18, at Phase 1 B Wisroc, Linden, he murdered his reputed wife,Leolyn Sullivan and injured his foster daughter Shemeka Campbelle. Shemeka Campbelle, who was stabbed thrice during the ordeal, was initially admitted to the hospital, but has been discharged and is recuperating at home as she prepares for the burial of her mother.
As she relates the bloody, dark night when her life was almost taken from her, her voice began to tremble. Shemeka said that the screams of her mother jolted her out of her sleep and she paced to the kitchen where she ran directly into her stepfather who turned the knife on her that was still dripping with her mother’s blood. He dealt her three stabs, one to her chest, one to her back and one to her hand. She said that even though the sounds of argument were not new, she had a “brainwave” to intervene in this one. This decision made her witness the gruesome stabbing of her mother.
After being stabbed, Shemeka said that she returned to the bedroom as she started to experience feelings of lightheadedness. She urged her little sister, Saskeya to see what is happening to her mother.
“Me sister go outside to distract him from stabbing me mother and she run through the door and me mother jump through the window,” Shemeka related. As she continued her recollection, she said that after regaining some strength, she ran through the door to see what the fate of her mother and sister was. Her efforts proved futile, as she dropped face down to the ground from being drained of strength. “Is like I start seeing black and I just fall down, and I hearing the hollering in the neighbour yard from my mother and sister and I call me lil brother and he too start holloring after going at the neighbour home,” said Shemeka. She said that she tried assiduously to muster a little strength to get up, but the surrounding was too dark. It was about 03:00hrs.
PRAYERS FOR STRENGTH
Shemeka said that she managed to raise her head and saw her stepfather coming towards her. She immediately prayed for the strength to escape death which appeared headed in her direction. Her stepfather had the knife in hand dipping with blood.
“I start praying right away and say God, give me the strength, please give me the strength” and she began to run while her stepfather chased her. At this time, the neighbours were alarmed and ran to her rescue. Shemeka was then placed in a bus with her mother to be rushed to the hospital.
“When we went in the bus, my mother keep crying saying hold meh neck hold meh neck,” she said. Upon their arrival at the hospital,she said that she knew her mother was dead after all the attention was placed on her and her stepfather who subsequently arrived at the hospital with self-inflicted wounds.
WHERE IS MOMMY?
Shemeka said that even though the older siblings are cognisant of the current situation, her little three-year-old sister is repeatedly asking for her mother.
“The other night she keep crying, “ah want mommy, a want mommy” and I does hug she up and mek she feel better,” revealed Shemeka.
Leolyn Sullivan leaves to mourn six children and will be laid to rest on Sunday. She was a vendor on the Mackenzie Wharf and was said to be a very hard-working person and a disciplinarian to her children.

By Vanessa Braithwaite