AMIDST an outpouring of emotions, the three children killed in an early morning attack on January 28 in Kilancholly, St Mary, were laid to rest in a funeral plot at their home on Sunday after a double funeral service in the parish.

Dwayne Davidson,15, and his sisters Sue-Ann Gordon, 13 and Shadece Williams, 4, were buried after a 9:00 am funeral service at Shiloah Apostolic Church in Stewart Town and a 2:00 pm service at the Kilancholly Apostolic Church.

The three were killed by an intruder in their home, who attacked them while they slept. It would be an unforgettable day for the many relatives, friends and well-wishers who turned out in their thousands at both venues to bid farewell to the children.

At Stewart Town, the church was filled to capacity with more than twice that amount outside – some under two makeshift tents but most of them enduring the morning sun.

Bishop Lee Harold Walsh, pastor of the church, said the three slain children were not just children of Kilancholly, but were children of all Jamaica for whom the entire nation grieved.

“I hope this service will cause the wicked to surrender even as the murderer has surrendered,” pastor Walsh said.

Bishop Delroy Farr described the children’s mother, Sonia Williams, as being the strongest woman he knows, having had to endure the pain of losing her three children so tragically.

“You are a heroine,” Bishop Farr said of Williams.

Other ministers who spoke encouraged strength and love for the bereaved family.

As the service got underway, there were not many tears at first, but when a grouping of 8 grades eight and ten students of the St Mary High School – the school Dwayne and Sue-Ann attended – paid tribute in song, one female student, overcome with emotion, wept throughout the presentation and had to be assisted by a male schoolmate.

A few mourners started shedding tears then.

But when Williams, who had remained outside the church until then, entered the building, walked up to the three caskets, hugged and then laid her head on each one alternately, the entire church, it seemed, burst into tears.

There was much wailing, which became even more evident when the St Mary students ended their song.

Williams then exited the church.

The students, with their teachers, placed roses on the caskets as the tears continued to flow and the voices of those who could sing then, rang out.

At Kilancholly, the crowd mass was even more awesome.

When the Observer reached the church at 1:00 pm for the two o’clock service, the crowd was already there. The church was packed and outside was also jammed. By then, the singing had started.

People were perched on trees, on buildings and anywhere to get a proper view. There were vendors – jerked chicken, ice cream, peanuts, cigarettes, soup, alcoholic beverages – almost anything one might have wanted to consume.

But most of all, there were people, seemingly thousands of them. Persons were known to be there from Kingston, Hanover, Manchester, St James and St Ann. Several persons also came from abroad just for the funeral. Some were total strangers but were there just to show their support to the bereaved family.

Kilancholly had never had seen a crowd quite like this.

The police were forced to stop vehicles nearly two miles away from the church and instruct the occupants to walk the remainder of the journey, in order to minimise the traffic jam.

When the three caskets arrived, one in each hearse, it was chaotic. Tempers flared as the police tried to clear a passage for the vehicles. After the caskets – a grey for the boy and off-white for the girls – were finally placed inside the church, a mad rush started to view the bodies.

Despite urgings from one of the bishops for the crowd to be orderly, it was mayhem.

At one side entrance, it was total chaos as persons, both young and the elderly, scrambled desperately to get inside for a view. One lady fell off the top step and had to be caught by those below.

Then someone shouted ‘schoolers only!’ and students were being pulled up like luggage to go inside the church.

Shortly after, the same person came out waving and shouting: “It (the casket) close; it nuh mek sense!” But the crowd persisted, forcing their way into the church for a final glimpse.

The funeral programme, which was circulated at Stewart Town, became a hot item with several persons offering to buy a copy which the Observer had. Having failed in their attempt, they turned to others who had them. But no one dared, or wanted, to sell.

The beautifully-done programme had the three children at different stages of their lives on the cover. The middle pages had a collage of pictures and was titled ‘Treasured Memories’.

When the service finally got underway at minutes to three o’clock, the programme, as presented at Stewart Town, was repeated. Dr Morais Guy, Member of Parliament for the Central St Mary constituency in which Kilancholly falls, paid tribute to the family.

“We, as a nation, share with you in this time of crisis; we share with you in this time of your grief and we will share with you in your joy as well. The many thousands who are here today, not only from the community, the many thousands, who have come out to be in support of you, is an indication of how the nation feels at this time of your tragic loss,” Dr Guy said.

The three children were laid to rest a short distance from where they lived. The St Mary police has since charged a 31 year-old cousin, Jeffrey Perry, with the murders.