TrinidadAndTobagoNews.com Reporters
June 17, 2009 – Updated: 12:15 PM
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com
Ten-year-old Tecia Henry, who was missing for four days, has been found dead and buried in a shallow grave beneath a house in Plaisance Terrace, Laventille. The body was discovered by a C.E.P.E.P. crew around 8:30 this morning.
The partially decomposed body was found semi-nude and it is suspected that strangulation had a part to play in her death.
A short while after the body’s discovery, residents of the community gathered and some attempted to take their anger out on a community leader who they felt should have known something about the disappearance and murder of the child. Police fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd.
Up to noon, the District Medical Officer and a forensic team was at the scene to remove the body and to further their investigation to determine the actual cause and time of her death.
Heavily armed police are currently in the area and four men have been detained in connection with the young girl’s death.
Tecia Henry, who lived on Essex Street John-John with her mother, Diane Henry and attended the St. Rose’s Girls’ primary school, had been missing since Saturday. She was sent to a nearby parlour for a few items but never returned home. The owner of the shop said that he did see Tecia but told her to come back in a few minutes when the shop was open. The last that was seen of the young Henry was by residents who observed her walking in the direction of her home.
After reports of the missing Tecia was made to the police and there was not an immediate response to look for the child, residents of the community engaged in protest as they did not believe the police was treating the matter with urgency. Following days of heated protests, National Security Minister Martin Joseph and acting Police Commissioner James Philbert visited Tecia’s mother, Diane, on Monday evening to assure her that they were utilizing all resources available to them in their effort to locate Tecia. Crime Stoppers also issued a $10,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Tecia.
Unfortunately, neither protest nor the efforts of the police were able to save the life of Tecia.
Related News: June 18, 2009
‘Why kill my child’
Gunshots rang out in Laventille when news broke that the body of little Tecia Henry had been found murdered beneath a neighbour’s house yesterday.
Tecia’s tragic end
Bullets fly, tempers flare as body of missing schoolgirl found in Laventille
Please, stop the war!
Loved by the John John community, Tecia Henry, a Standard Four student of the St Rose’s Girls’ Primary School in Port-of-Spain, was looking forward to her 11th birthday party next Thursday.
Martin Joseph shaken: ‘I’m a parent too’
Girl’s murder saddens Joseph
NATIONAL SECURITY Minister Martin Joseph yesterday said he was deeply saddened by the brutal murder of ten-year-old Tecia Henry.
Riot in John John as Tecia’s body found
Angry women ‘attack’ police; Philbert sets up post
The women of Laventille vented their rage over the murder of Tecia Henry, ten, fearlessly in challenging the police who tried to calm them down.
Govt looks for home for Tecia’s family
…She was kind, loving, says teacher
78 children still missing in T&T
Panday: Criminals feel they can get away with anything here
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog – URL for this article:
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog/?p=1238
In spite of all that is happening I must say that God is still in control. The Bible refers to all the things that will happen in the last days. Are we not in the last days? Let us not think about revenge but pray and ask God to help us. We need to surrender our lives to Jesus, He is the only one that will fill whatever void there is in our lives. God wants our souls. Hell is real and we cannot think about getting back at anyone. God says that vengence is His. May this little child Rest In Peace.
I am an adult living in London who is becoming afraid to return to my native country. It appears that as the days pass, things are getting worse in T & T. Trinidad is rapidly gaining a bad reputation–murder capital of the world, tourist beware! Not a good image to live with. When will the government take control and protect the inhabtants.
I will like to return to Trinidad to make a contribution in the field of health, but honestly, I am being discouraged by what is happening in relation to crime. I continue to pray for my native country.
Undoubtedly, this is extremely tragic and may our loving, lovely daughter go back to God to whom she belongs,
However, it puzzles me to know and to accept that so-called ‘normal’ people can perform such a dastardly act. According to an English Judge–‘the devil himself knows not the heart of a man.’
Needless to say, my deepest feelings, sentiments and sense of loss are with the parents, siblings, and others concerned.
May God give you strength.
Let little Tecia Henry’s tragic end bring us to our senses so that we can begin to take back our neighborhoods from the lawlessness that has plagued our Nation for much too long.
We can’t let this innocent child’s life be taken in vain. It’s time to take responsibility in her memory and on behalf of all the children of TT. May God bless her and may she RIP. My deepest condolences to her family
To the killer or killers I hope you rot in hell. I’m sitting hear at work crying right now and cannot believe this. What kind of person are you to do such a crime to an innocent little child and then go to bed at night. And trust me somebody must have heard something or know something. That poor innocent child what have she done to you to deserve this, thats a baby in my eyes. The laws need to be stricker in tnt for people who commit such a crime. It makes me so scared to bring my kids to tnt the country that I love so much, because I don’t know how I can go on in life if something like this was to happen to them. For the mother I can only imagine the pain you are going through right now. And please know that the whole world is grieving with you right now. God bless this whole family. To the sisters be strong for your mom I pray for all of you, I am feeling the pain for you guys. God bless all of you.
This is jus the worst ive ever come over but i would jus like to kno the root of this evil. why????? why?? Tecia? what did her parents do? if they had done anything to anyone?
something is wrong somewhere children are not ussually harmed like this in Laventille. We need answers God will Provide them u ppl jus wait and see.\
Cover your self in his Blood
Rest in Peace, Tecia. To the family, I am so sorry for the tragic death of such a lovely girl child, a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin, a granddaughter.
I pray that the your faith will in someway hold and keep you. In times like this that the support of friends and family can give comfort and support. I ask for this in the name of our Father that you will stand up, walk with God’s mighty power who will undirgird you and your loved ones at this time of despair.
Peaceful Prayer Partner
Trinidr
Lord these people sick in they head these days yes! They have no heart at all! May GOD be with her family. This little girl did not deserve this! I can’t stop crying for her. Rest In Peace baby girl! We all love you! (:
all these crimes are a legacy of the pnm regime.thats what you all in laventille voted for.thanks you all are now reeping the benefits
Serif Ali do you really believe that statement is necessary at this time! Did Laventille vote for such a crime to take place. Come on! Get a life!
Well T&T enough is enough. What has gone wrong. Every single day is a killing. We were never a nation of child molesters and child rapists or child murderers. Most offenders are males on both boys and girls. There should be no prison sentence only IMMEDIATE HANGING.
No one has any sane explanation as to why this could happen to this little girl. She did nothing. These men are beings in forms of humans. When they did those terrible things to her, how did they feel when she was screaming and bawling? Oh my GOD.
Vengence is mine saith the lord but there IS the law of moses, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. I believe in the latter. They have to suffer long and the spirit of this girl will be on them until they suffer a most horrible death.
As for the GANG thing, T&T this has to STOP. Gangs are not necessary. Reprisals like this happens to innocent children, who are not involved. They pay for things they know nothing of. In the minds of gangs is it a good feeling to know that your own family are suffering such crimes for your actions.
T&T is my home and NO criminal will prevent me from returning to my home. Why should I be afraid of criminals.There IS a CURE for all this. The time is fast approaching. Just believe.
To the family. I cannot find words to express my sadness or ways to comfort each of you. I am very sad and heart broken for you all. May the gods protect you all and keep you all and rest assured that Tecia’s will rest in peace when she is done with her murderers.
Why do the residents in Trinidad call these criminals community leaders how are they leading the community with shame and murder to innocent young blood. Ohhhhhh pleeeease!! Call them what they are rapist, molesters and murders with no remorse for others. I wonder if any other children were abused but still alive and the child and their parents said nothing.
May the the lord bless and uphold this child’s family in their time of mourning and may she rest in peace for the innocent advantaged child’s place is in the kingdom of heaven.
It seems to me that the so called community leaders with no degree or education want to live and bring this once blessed country like in iraq no peace constant war and no respect for women and children. This mess and chaos needs to be cleaned up once and for all how many more have to suffer how many more have to die. Why is it that children missing is becoming popular in T&T? Parents need to know that a child molester live around you, make friends with you especially if you have young children, grew up with you, went to church with you, went to school with you, will always be nice to you and your children, will fall in love with you to get to your children, even marry you and support you. Child predators are very rampant in todays society. WAKE UP parents stop sending your children on errands you should be doing it is not like before the world has changed drastically you cannot trust no one not even your lover question your children do not think they are too young to understand they do understand because the television and BET and the songs already taught them before you did. WAKE UP!!
May the Most High Bless Trinidad and Tobago.
Shalom!!
my deepest goes out to the family what trinidad has come to lord
i will miss my cousin the last time i saw her was when i came home this year for carnival
she is such a pleasent child aunty dianne this is from my family my condolences goes out to you and the kids she will be miss
from avy and family
I AM AMAZED ON HOW SOMEONE COULD ACTUALLY COMMIT SUCH, MY EYES CANNOT PLACE A MEANING FOR SUCH BEHAVIOR. PRIME MINISTER SOME BODY IN CHARGE OF THE GUIDANCE OF OUR PEOPLE HELP US PLEASE. MAY YOU REST IN PEACE
Where to begin? RIP little ONE!!!!! This seems so unfair, inhumane, sadistic…all the unpleasant words, adjectives, verbs, or letters we all can think. But, I believe only GOD knows why things are allowed to happen. What good can we see in this? At this present time, NOTHING if you are just looking at the darkness and the present moment. If you choose to find a light in this, you can find a FEW bright spots.
I choose to find a few.
• Children are innocent. This child even though her life cut so short, is blessed. She does not have to live through decades of violence, anger, strife, sadness, pain, despair. She may have survived this world quite well and healthy, but she does not have to go through the struggle. SHE is FREE and HEAVENLY BOUND.
• This incident has TRULY struck a nerve in Laventille and the surrounding areas. Eyes are finally being opened. The blind and speechless are about to see and speak. Everything will not change overnight because it did not get this way overnight. But, I have a feeling; this CHILD will have an impact. Her death will live on as a turning point, which helped save a NATION.
We can blame the government, we can blame the police, but when are we going to blame ourselves? Our National Motto: Together We Aspire, Together We Achieve is true to its meaning. The only difference is we are on the other side of the harsh marks. We are not aspiring to be GOOD stewards together. We are not achieving anything of significance that is GOOD together. Our island is so divided we cannot stand. Our politicians have failed us, the protective services have failed us, friends & family has failed us. I ask again, when are we going to take personal responsibility?
WE are the Government, WE are the police, WE are the teachers, WE are the friends, and WE are the family. The Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, Commissioner of Police, etc are ONLY representatives of us. Let us stop dividing ourselves, stop opposing just to oppose. PLAY FAIR!!! The truth or a lie will always be a truth or a lie. Good or bad will always be good or bad. Stop pretending, stop hiding, and stop encouraging one another in lies and bad behavior.
If we assist each other over time we all will be in a better place. Citizens help your country. Neighbors assist your neighborhood. Neighborhoods assist your local police officer. Officers assist the neighbors. Get my point? We are helping each other solve problems. If we take this method and make it perfect locally we can take it nationally and save this COUNTRY.
Only by the Grace of GOD!
BAsed on these comments, and those in the Express-218 at time of reading, the outrage is universal. let us keep this outrage up until the persons are found and brought to justice. Beginning now, let us each vow to watch out for our neighbours’ children. A child walking the street must be in a corridor of safety, formed by all those wh are out there at the time.
I live in a city where a father is critical in a hospital, after picking up his eight year old and sixyear old at school, calling their mother to say he will kill them and went to an apartment complex where they did not live, and shot his children to death.
An observant resident noticed the car idling for more than an hour and checked it. The bodies were inside. Not poor, a Lexus.
We cant stop individual idiots like that, but we can protect other people’s children by being observant. Criminals expect you to be silent, complacent, complicit; and say Me ent see nothing.The criminals can’t kill everybody, unless we the people, let them.
Tecia was my cousin it is very uplifting to see the words of support from complete strangers. This is a very difficult time because she was a child very innocent and her life was snuffed out. Who Jah bless no man curse she will be missed.
P.S
Who are you Roger?
`I am a Trinidadian living in the US. I often plan to take vacation back home but turned off by the horendous crimes taking place. What exactly is the cops doing. Who are they guarding, not the people. Many of the individuals deported to Trinidad are hard core criminals from some of the toughest prisons in the US. They have bbeen exposed to gangs and other sick sex acts inside. They have used transference as a means of survival in Trini. The Trinidad police needs training in criminology. They are contaminating eveidence in attempting to find the perpetrators of crimes. How could there be so many missing children and no traces ever. Too much emphasis is placed on other issues and not addressing the issues at hand. Look at the shop owners, the neighbors and the people who were first to report about finding her body or willing to help the police. They often are guilty in comitting the crime. My heart goes out to the family of Tecia. What monsters are living in Trinidad. There are more crimes committed in Trinidad than any other Caribbean Island and even in the US at times.
to my aunt diann and family we will miss her the last tme i saw her was when i came home for carnival she is such a pleasent child even dow we did not spend a lot of time together i am at work crying all day i cant belevive she is gone stop the killing of all the kids what trini comeing to stop the killing of the kids we want back sweet sweet tnt what is going on people stop it stop the killing and the crime my litte cousin gone y y tecia
avy cousin in new york
The Perverts of Society
Calling thr perpetrators of such voilent acts names wont help. They represent the worst in us as a society but more importantly we need a justice system that would identify, apprehend and convict these freaks. We also need to put in place methods of identifying these scums before they commit these atrocities. Ours is a governmentthat is quick to say that it cannot afford these interventions but we spend a fortune on Carnival and ethnic holiday festivals. Take some of these ‘giveaways’ and create agencies that work to protect our young.
I am deeply saddened to hear the news of little Tecia. Her innocence was taken from her. Whoever did this their say will come!!!!! I send my condolences to Tecia & her family from New York. R.I.P!!!!!!!
THE SINS OF THE PARENTS DEFINITELY FALL ON CHILDREN. DO NOT THINK FOR ONE MOMENT THAT THIS SITUATION JUST HAPPEN LIKE THAT. IT STARTED SOMEWHERE AND IT IS SAD THAT THIS INNOCENT CHILD HAD TO KILLED LIKE THAT. MAY SHE REST IN PEACE AND MAY HER ‘INNOCENT’ PARENTS FIND JESUS CHRIST.
Tash, I go home to TnT every year. So does my brother in law. My niece and her family go every other year. These horrendous incidents, though they are frequent, Lord, too frequent, should not prevent you from going. You exercise the care you would exercise in any big strange city like New York, London or Toronto.
I could never stop loving my country, or going there to water my cultural roots.
Is like no one is in charge of this Island. I am so sick of that mess that Trinidad & Tobago is in it makes my heart ache. And what makes me more mad is when the powers that be make excuses for the situation. A small place as T&T has such an enormous CRIME RATE, why? why? why? What is this poor family to do now.
God Help and give them strength.
I told my mom even up to Wednesday morning on our way to P.O.S that the next time we going to visit the family is when they find this little child. I pictured the child coming home to her family alive, not dead. I did not even think that people would put their neighbors through that nightmare but I was totally wrong. The child was not raped, it was not a child molester who did this. It was people from that same area where they found Tecia. Not even people, criminals, demons. How could you look at that child and harm her? I know her and she’s always so afraid. She wont even ask to go use the bathroom or drink some water in her class. Poor Tecia was so terrified and I can’t even imagine her fright. R.I.P BABY because you are an angle and I will miss you. Tecia we love you and I say this on behalf of the staff and students of your past school.
I don’t understand. For a community with so much violence and tension, instead of them banding together to look for this child, they had PROTEST ACTION because they thought that the police wasn’t doing enough??? That makes absolutely NO SENSE!!!! When will Trinis realise that their society is THEIRS to protect!!!! Even with something as severe as this, persons of this community thought that a protest action was best…This is really sad..just sad!!!!
MY HEART GOES OUT THE CHILD PARENTS AND THE SADDNESS THAT TAKES PLACE IN TRINIDAD.
IT SEEMS THAT THE YOUNG CRIMINALS AND SAVAGES ARE RUNNING THE COUNTRY, THEY KNOW THAT THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH THEIR CRIMES, IF THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT CONTROLL OR INTEND TO MAKE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO BATTLE CRIME CONTROL, IF IT MEANS DOUBLING THE FLYING SQUAD OR HIRE FOREIGN LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PATROLL THE STREETS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY, AND HANG THOSE CRIMALS WHEN THEY REACH 21 YEARS, WHEN YOU DO THE CRIME YOU PAY THE PRICE AT ANY AGE.
im still in shock at this brutal murder of such an adorable litte girl . what on earth could she have done to deserve a death like this nothing and may god keep her in his everlasting arms and that animal be brought to justice. To her family god is in control and you all will survive this ordeal. i did cause a cousin of mine was killed in tobago and his killers are still at large. We found him a stone throw away for his home badly decomposed so i can testify its not an easy road but with god we got through it all, so all the best and trinidad and tobago are with you all.
From the historical record:
Twenty four years ago, the eighteen month old son of a syrian-0Lebanese connected family, was kidnapped from his front yard in Westmoorings, buggered, and thrown back on the lawn later in the evening. It was believed to be meant to send a message to the parents about cheating on a drug deal- it was coverd in both the Guardian and Express at the time,a well as the Mirror. It was a strange new venture into criminal behavious by drug dealers. Now we are hearing the same thing is happening in LAventille. They are capitalizing on the high rape nd murder rate, nd the white slavery situation that is going on in Tnt, that many know about nd shoo-shoo quietly about. The whole country needs a shake-up. Every person knowing something about drug dealing should report it. Long before Burroughs was fired in 1985-96 everyone on the street knew he was the drug kingpin, but in the rising sewer we were living in, no one was talking.
I say, the time to start talking is now, before this sewer of crime strangles all of our young children.
I am too old to lead marches, and I am not there now to hve current information about stuff, but people know, and people think it will not happen to their children. Well, keep on being foolish until your child is snatched and strangled for something you know.
“We have to make a living” is not an excuse,because children pay with their lives, for the sins of the parents.
Twenty four years ago, they buggered an eighteen month old, now they have risen to strangulation.
Lets go back to the series of bombing a couple of years ago. Our gracious PM input into the mystery was that he knows Mr. Big had an input into the acts of violence but we must have evidence. ‘Evidence’ appears to be the keyword and operating word on how people are either brought to justice or NOT brought to justice in good Ole T&T. Can the Government do something abaout evidence gathering, evidence definitions and administration of evidence to 20th century behaviours in order to detect and prosecute criminals? or are the suspects too HOT to handle?