Excelsior High Teen Kemelia Paul Dies After Bayshore Park Stabbing

Thirteen-year-old Kemelia Paul, a student of Excelsior High School, has died after spending more than a month in hospital from stab wounds she received during a family dispute on May 9.

Her mother, Josephine Mitchell, confirmed the child's death yesterday, saying Kemelia had passed away. Mitchell, who had watched her daughter struggle to survive for weeks, was overcome with grief during a short telephone conversation, while prayers and songs of comfort could be heard around her.

In a voice note sent to the news team, Mitchell said, “Jesus, I can’t say RIP to my daughter.”

Reports indicate that Kemelia was badly injured in Bayshore Park, near Harbour View in St Andrew, after she stepped in during a domestic conflict. Mitchell had previously said her daughter lived with her father and aunt and was stabbed in the abdomen while trying to part a fight involving a cousin and the father of that cousin's child.

The man accused in the incident reportedly had a restraining order against him and had gone to the house to confront the mother of his child.

Mitchell is now facing the death of the daughter she described as cheerful and filled with potential. In an earlier interview, she had been moving urgently across the Kingston Public Hospital compound to collect prescriptions and buy supplies to help keep Kemelia comfortable, saying her Mother's Day had been spent at her 13-year-old's bedside as the child fought for life.

At that stage, Mitchell said the knife injury had caused serious damage to Kemelia's liver and that doctors were getting her ready for three operations.

Through the weeks that followed, Mitchell continued to express hope. During checks by the newspaper, she repeatedly said she was depending on God and believing her daughter would recover.

Kemar Mitchell, 29, who has been identified as the accused man, surrendered to detectives at the Kingston East Police Division on May 14.