NEW YORK (WABC) — A teenager from Brooklyn was killed on vacation in Jamaica, and now her mother is talking about what happened and how she learned the news.
While visiting relatives in Jamaica, 19-year-old Franciena Johnson and her cousin were shot and killed just one day after she arrived.
Her heartbroken mother never imagined it might be the last time she would see her child when she sent her off for winter break to stay with her grandmother. But now Suzette Clarke-Grose, of Canarsie, is dealing with unimaginable pain.
After Franciena and 18-year-old cousin Nadia Fearon vanished, police found their bodies far from the resort areas, floating in a salt marsh near May Pen on the country’s south coast.
Then Franciena’s grandmother made the terrible phone call.
“She said, ‘Brace yourself, because your daughter is dead,'” Clarke-Grose said through tears. “I asked what happened, and she don’t know, she just never came home Friday night. She and Nadia left the house to go to May Pen, and she didn’t return home.”
Police tell the family they are putting together bits and pieces of evidence to help find the killer. Someone heard gunshots, which led them to the bodies.
“I was told it appears they kidnapped them in a car, and the area where they took them was very lonely,” Clarke-Grose said. “Nobody really knows what happened. They only know that they found them with gunshot wounds to the body.”
Clarke-Grose spoke to Eyewitness News while sorting through hundreds of pictures of her photogenic daughter, who was studying to be a nurse at Kingsboro College. She was born in Jamaica and moved to the US as a child, and her mother can’t understand why anyone would hurt her.
“She was a bubbly and loving girl, that’s all I can say,” Clarke-Grose said. “Very respectful. I can’t imagine somebody doing something, because it’s somebody you can’t do nothing but love.”
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OMG. RIP to the young lady & her cousin.
What is going on in JA?! Why would somebody do this to CHILDREN!! 18 is VERY young so I still look at them as children.
if man a shoot 7 year old, den 18 year old will be a piece of cake for them. this case has alot of questions though, doesnt sound like a random act of violence.
No whole heap a question nuh inna nutten. People dead a Jamaica fi nutten at all and dem neva mixup. Some sick man probably did just want rape di people dem pickney cause dem come from foreign and dem feel dem can tek advantage a dem.
Things are very rarely ever random, whether in Jamaica or in the US. I believe they knew their killers and this was an intentional act.
Sick! First thing I see this morning made me so mad
Oh my God wat happen to the rule don’t kill women n children it sad real sad *tears*
inna 2013?
Very sad. Condolences to the family.
R.I.P. ….OMG Jamaican evil ppl dem always put back di country right dung di gutter, JESUS CHRIST man when they gonna stop killing ppl senselessly. Tessanne give it a little positive light and look weh dem do to the poor girls now, dem a hurt dem own country
JESUS, JESUS, JESUS. LAWD GOD ME DAUGHTER AND HER COUSIN GONE DUNG TODAY RIGHT NOW THEM DEH A ATL A WAIT PON THE PLANE. ME JUST CALL HER AND BEG HER. DUH UNNUH NO GO NO WHEY WIDDOUT AT LEAST 2 MAN BESIDE UNNUH. JESUS ME NAH SLEEP TILL DEM REACH BACK HOME INNA JANUARY. IF ME NEVER HAFFI WORK THEM WOULD NOT BE GOING ALONE. RIP TO THESE YOUNG LADIES, MAY GOD BRING COMFORT AND PEACE TO THIER FAMILY AND LOVED ONES. JAMAICA WHAT KIND OF DAWG HEARTED PEOPLE A ROAM DUNG DEH. AT LEAST INNA FIMI TIME THEM NO KILL WOMAN AND YOUNG PICKNEY. I CYAAN TEK IT.
dem stay wid di grandmother or where they at the resort by themself? or mi nah read correctly
dis man a farrin an go yard wrong ting trick,keep ya hype a farrin nuh bring it a yard u will dead
HUH?? Wow
met ah who write dis???? no man no man
write wha?
THIS::::: f**k says:
December 27, 2013 at 11:36 am
dis man a farrin an go yard wrong ting trick,keep ya hype a farrin nuh bring it a yard u will dead
cannot pay some people no mind
samething I wanted to write look like 11:36 know sometjing…You dumb f**k what is a diss compared to murdering? Only a Evil pu**y kill someone ova mouth chat..and to you or your dutty demon friend who murdered these young people and robb them of life don’t worry cause is same way God going to punish whoever for this crime..how would you feel if somebody shoit your daughter, mother, sister over a word diss? Sick motherf**ker I hope you feel it soon!
i READ ON FACE BOOK ON CHO BLOODCLAAT THAT HER BOYFRIEND KILLED HER BECAUSE SHE ENDED THE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM! I STILL HAVE IT IN MY PHONE IF U WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT MET
mi will wait pan a news source
I saw it too, its really sad
unuh a envy farin pickney now? Come on…mi goin pray fah yuh – – yuh sound ignorant. yuh definitely don’t represent JAMAICA. Caws all now yuh cyaan go to May Pen wid dat talk deh!!
rip to the girls who lost their lives, but i am waiting for more info, because jamaica scary fi true an dem no stop kill off di oman an pickney dem, but sumting about diss no seem too right.
I hope they catch the nasty bastard quick who did this senseless killing. My aunt in Jamaica kept saying right now is not a good time to come to Jamaica because the people behaving desperate robbing and killing. A hungry man is an Angry man, The people out there need job this Christmas people broke and hungry. R.i.p to the young ladies how ridiculous send your kids to go see Famly in Jamaica and this type of shit ppl have to worry about!
How sad, R.I.P.
The girl in de picture is gorgeous. Mi agree wid Firebrand say yu nuh haffi do nodody nutten, and yu nuh haffi be inna nuh mixup fi lose yu life like dawg so in JA. It is sad, but it”s true. A mus some sick bombo-ole do dis, and I think dem coming from foreign,and they were probably by demselves , might have someting to do wid dem deaths. As a Mother of a 21 yr old daughter, someting inside a mi move when mi read dis story. O God man, a wouldn”t be able to think straight if dis young woman was my dawta. A hope to God dat de Police dem move fast pon da one ya. Poor Mother and grandmother.
Police need to focus on these hits that are being paid for from abroad .I know a girl hat a hit was ordered on and the people who was supposed to do it could not when they found out it was the man woman and babymother .They told her and told her to leave out a town as the man might pay someone else .
She left but guess what ,she came back to farrin and is still sleeeping with the man ,she refused to cooperate with the police who were investigating when her family reported it .
There are some very cruel people in the world always be aware of them.
People a tell dem business so easy? Mi pickney on da way there…smh.
Metty…..what is f**k @11.36 sayin????….dat statement confuse mi Likkle bit…….Rip to did young ladies….condolences to di family…….unno think dung a dis bloodclaat ya nice…..I will always love mi born land…but di things dem wey tek place deh mek yuh fraid to rass…u wi get f**k if associated r involve indirectly….yuh no kno if u wan walk r run….n trust n believe anno dung town ppl alone it a happen to…good n bad deh every weh but Jamaica too small fi such much bad…satan loose…..tide up…….Jesus Christ Wash Yuh Blood Ova Jamaica I Beg Of Thee……
Sounds like she knows something we don’t, nor do we care. The girls are dead and it’s a sad thing
Feel it for her family. Where thr hell dem cudda go so? Who did they go to meet? Questions swirling
A me island and me love it to de max and me we represent jamaica anytime a 15 years me nuh guh dung deh and me naw guh sorry me a one Jamaican weh throw stone behind dem because a shit like this dem don’t have no heart
SHelly dat nuh mek no sense whe yuh say cause a nuh jamaican one kill people look pan di people dem a di same farrin whe u deh whe a rape and kill baby much less an eighteen year old, it is very wrong but fi say you throw stone from whe yuh come from just hope an pray one day u nuh haffi go back dont forget where yu come from or you will never know where yu goin tek dat advise , whe u say nuh sound good cause u neigbor whe u live right now can be a rass murderer.
jamaica full ah shit like wah
Me caan believe this, my God!!! why????? I don’t know this girl and me feel it to me soul..
So right anonymous! I feel it for her family…it is indeed sad and outright brutal. I hope they catch whomever did this heinous act. We should all remember that Jamaica is not the worst place on earth, people get killed and robbed everyday in every corner a different earth. I was never robbed in Jamaica, I visited the USA and deb so me get robbed as a visitor and miss Nevada write off the US. Some a uno only set dunno a Jamaican when it suit and when good a vegan find Jamaica. Miss a Jamaican bad or good!
Every day dem want me send fi mi Pikney down deh KMT, If I am not present dem not leaving Uncle Sam Country.
mi housekeeper brotherinlaw come down from Canada and go a him yard a st elizebeth, when him reach 2 man juk him and tek him 3 suitcases. Tell mi if dat is rite.
him just tun bac and tek the next plane back to Canada
R.I.P …OMG THIS IS CRAZY..
11:38 yuh nasty rasss soon get weh yuh a look fah, remember God nah sleep. How can a one tek some weh something weh dem can’t give. Just wait. I plea the blood a Jesus PON yuh.
So sad….mi scared fi send mi pickney alone guh Jamaica now….so sad…no parents wants to bury their child, children suppose to bury dem parents instead…hope dem find di Killa soon….R.I.P.
I hope the animals who did this to these poor lil girl die a slow painful death. f**king shit dem. I hope dem Neva have a peaceful sleep another day in a dem life, and ever time dem try to close dem eyes a di two girls dem a see.
@ pus…ole, dat deh story sounf too much like set up. How dem know him ah come wid tings…ah him owna fambily duh dat…
so sad.. funny enuff me did a talk to me mother d other and she turn rown and seh if anybody seh to her dem a come jamaica she wud tell dem not to cause dem might nuh go back and that is so true
I HEARD IT WAS A LOVE AFFAIR GONE BAD.
HE DID NOT WANT HER TO LEAVE HIM.
SHE WAS IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH SOMEONE HERE IN NYC.
SO SHE WANTED TO TO END THE RELATIONSHIP.