Harbour View teen Camelia Paul dies after May stabbing, murder charge laid

Thirteen-year-old Camelia Paul has died from complications linked to stab wounds she received during an incident at her Harbour View home on May 9, leaving her family, school and community in mourning.

Her relatives had spent weeks hoping she would recover in hospital after the stabbing. According to her mother, the family believed Camelia had been improving before her health suddenly worsened. She said doctors later explained that the child had developed an infection in her lungs, which made breathing difficult.

Camelia's mother recalled pleading for her daughter to keep fighting as medical staff tried to stabilise her. "Father God, my baby, please don't give up on my baby," she cried. She said she was told Camelia had suffered cardiac arrests and that doctors were waiting for antibiotics to take effect while continuing efforts to save her.

The family later received the news they had feared most. Her mother said a doctor told her Camelia had another cardiac arrest and that her heart had stopped beating. She said she struggled to accept the words, hoping at first that there had been some mistake.

Now grieving the loss, Camelia's mother described her daughter as loving, kind and full of life. The teen's death has also shaken her school and the wider community, where teachers, classmates and residents have been mourning a child they believed had much more life ahead of her. An aunt said Camelia brought light wherever she went.

Twenty-eight-year-old Kemar Mitchell, who had earlier been charged with wounding with intent, has since been charged with murder following Camelia's death. He is scheduled to return to court on July 17.

Mitchell is accused of stabbing Camelia in the abdomen after she reportedly tried to intervene in a dispute between him and another relative. As the family prepares for her funeral, relatives say they want her memory preserved and justice pursued for the 13-year-old.