WHEN 13-year-old Shanoya Wray left home quietly on the night of July 15, her relatives — who quickly reported her missing — had no clue she would not return home alive.
Not once during the week in which they awaited her return did they think that she would have turned up dead and that her alleged killer would be Trinidadian teacher, Sanju Maharaj, who is currently before the court on a sex charge with her as the complainant.
“I thought she would come back home; I wasn’t thinking that [she would be dead] at all,” said Wray’s mother, Shana-Hay Hall, who was in tears as she spoke with the Jamaica Observer yesterday from her family home on Tavern Drive in Kingston.
The teen’s mother Shana-Hay Hall, and grandmother, Sylvia Campbell in tears yesterday.
The teen’s grandmother, Sylvia Campbell, who was also in tears, said, “Everyday we call Biffy (Shanoya), even though she nuh answer. [It seemed] the phone was locked off from the Monday, but we a say Biffy must answer.”
“ The morning after she gone we never did a tek it fi nothing, ’cause pickney go bout dem business and come back, so you expect har fi come back the Monday. You a look fi har a come in a the day or in the evening, but everytime dem call Biffy no answer,” Shanoya’s aunt Lisa-Gaye Hall.
But five days later the family’s hope quickly turned to heart-rending grief when relatives were asked to submit to DNA testing which confirmed that the skeletal remains that were found soaking in a bathtub with chemicals at premises on Walley Close, in Kingston, on July 20 belonged to the missing teenager.
Hall, who said she has been unable to eat or sleep properly since her daughter’s death, said the police were only able to recover few pieces of bone and a skull.
“The doctor say if it did stay one more day no bone wouldn’t leave, and no smell wouldn’t be there,” she said.
The police were alerted to the remains by a neighbour who was concerned about an unpleasant stench from next door after cleaning his home. The neighbour reportedly a used a ladder to climb up and peep through a window over into the premises and made the unfortunate discovery.
According to Hall, based on the state of the remains, she was informed that an autopsy could not be done. The police, she said, have since theorised that a caustic substance was used to burn the teen’s body.
She said that she was also told by the police that neighbours had allegedly seen a man burning female clothing and braids. Her daughter, she said, was wearing braids at the time she went missing
“We just can’t believe how the man burn up the child, ’cause even the bone weh left back dem say no substance no inna the bone, so if the neighbour never find it even the next 10 years we wouldn’t find her or know what happen to her, and dem would haffi just throw out the case,” said the child’s aunt, shaking her head.
A 19-year-old resident of Harbour View in Kingston, Lenardo Madden, believed to be a close friend of the Trinidadian and who was allegedly at the house when the police made the gruesome discovery was later charged along with Maharaj with murder, accessory after the fact, and misprison of felony.
The Trinidadian teacher was arrested and charged last year after Shanoya was found at his home a day after she did return home from school.
She said around October of last year her daughter, who was then a 12-year-old grade seven student at New Day All-Age School did not come home after school.
Maharaj, who was on teaching practice at the school at the time, was out on bail and had been scheduled to reappear in court this November on carnal abuse charge.
The teenager’s father, Starkey Wray, who later turned up at the home yesterday, could not hide his emotions.
“Me cyaan even tell you how I’m coping; it a mad me, it’s the worst thing ever happen to somebody I know.
“The man who kill her is really wicked; first me see a man wicked like that: how you can kill a child like that?”
Similar sentiments were expressed by Shanoya’s older sister, Correy-Ann Morgan, 15.
“It just nuh feel right just to know how she innocent and to know what she go through; maybe if a did something like sickness kill her we wouldn’t feel like we do now, ’cause we not even know how she died. We just imagine the pain that she went through before she die; it’s just hard.”
She described her sister as always pleasant.
“It’s like certain things in a life hard for me to do now. Me try me best not to think about it, but it is like something come in my head back and I can’t be happy to the fullest again,” Morgan said.
The family, meanwhile, is hoping they will get justice in the court.
The two accused are expected to appear in court today
Sas crise we need a cleansing in a Jamaica. The amount a innocent blood whey a flow.
The statement by the mother open up a whole different conversation “The morning after she gone we never did a tek it fi nothing, cause Pinckney go bout dem business and come back”.
Yu right loose living … she go and come as she pleases
That was the statement that floored me! I was like WTH??? She is 13!!! I have a nephew that age and his ass cant even stay at the gate pass certain hours, much less SLEEP OUT!
I couldn’t red pass that. Sorry. I am sick of the cultire, children should be protected by all means. A lot of Jamaicans make it seems as though children are free at a tender age. This little girl should have been under supervision.
I’m not sure I follow this story…so the teacher was on a carnal abuse charge related to her b4? And then killed her to get the case dropped?…Jesus.
But parents please pay very close attention to your kids…..”The morning after she gone we never did a tek it fi nothing, ’cause pickney go bout dem business and come back, so you expect har fi come back the Monday. You a look fi har a come in a the day or in the evening”..really? a 13 yeard old?….kmt
Off Topic Met, But you no see say PSA is out for Pashion Minott big daughter. she is Missing and all now me no see none a di Daddy or him Family a repost or respond. Sad. I hope she is found and alive. as far as i can see her Girls are he life.
Is there a more perfect example of how wutliss and despicable some Jamaican parents and parental figures can be than in this instance??
“ The morning after she gone we never did a tek it fi nothing, ’cause pickney go bout dem business and come back, so you expect har fi come back the Monday. You a look fi har a come in a the day or in the evening, but everytime dem call Biffy no answer,” Shanoya’s aunt Lisa-Gaye Hall.
Regular ting fi the lil girl do road then and it’s accepted by the adults. Even after he molested her when she was 12yo,the lil girl still did a link with the Trini to the family’s knowledge I bet.All of unno let this child down…GO SYM straight!! Sometimes it gets too emotional to comment pon these stories…so jus gonna stick to WTF Africa n watching Omaraso tek dung Agent Orange…I’m done Grammar police had fun,stay bless all n protect our yutes I’m begging y’all.
The man is her boyfriend … they are not shocked at the relationship them cah believe him kill ar
Good Lorth..so this kid was her own big woman. A teck hood from her eye deh a har knee..coming and going as she like and unnu never put a stop to it? And now unnu a bawl..smdh..Good God wey are puppa did deh? She is only 13 and from she 11 or 12 she a teck bigman. I hope this is a lesson to all dem lil gal out deh wa feel like dem a big oman..
Fassie a dat mi a sey tu. Now mi a wonder if a him have di likkle pickney or wah?
look here ,I have some wutless cousins who raise their daughters just like this. We even took them in for awhile and it was hell to get them to come in at a normal time and behave like children. The same attitude of ” pickney go a road when they feel like” is prevalent here. And when things happen to the children they act surprised. There is a generation of parenting in this country that is absolute trash . The kids coming up now 11 and up , Lawd.. they are a mess
They need to look more into this teacher. He knew how to get rid of the body. Who knows, maybe he’s a serial rapist and killer. Maybe that’s why he’s not in Trinidad anymore. Maybe he’s a fugitive
Possibly pregnant as to why he killed her smdh Sadness n blame all around
Smh this is so distasteful
Right on the money. She and the boy were still linking and he killed her possibly because she is pregnant and he had a case to answer to in November. That would have worsened the case. Worthless parents I tell you. Her Facebook page tells you all, the men underneath commenting smh.. she seemed very forced ripe.
Likle gal did a breed fi d teacher an him married back inna trini to , the whole family knew about the relationship meck dem move
I am living in another country and I have ever been convicted of a crime, its the fastest I’d be deported! Why this man get accused of this horrific act and wasn’t sent home to Trinidad on a one way ticket immediately? We shouldn’t even spare anything because the way they treat us, we need to dish out some of our treatment.
Him fi get a taste of Jamaican prison before him get deported. Hope dem deal wid him prappa in dey
Whe him get so much acid from fi soak a body in a bath tub to melt?
Dis ya deeeeeeep!