MONTEGO BAY, St James — Students and staff of the Harrison Memorial High School in St James have been receiving counselling as they try to come to terms with the brutal slaying of one of their teachers.

Thirty-seven- year-old Tania Lowe was stabbed to death at her home in Pitfour, Saturday evening, shortly after she arrived home from church. Her attacker remains at large.

Neighbours reportedly heard loud screams coming from Lowe’s premises and her body was later found lying in a pool of blood on her lawn with a stab wound to the left side of her neck.

The gruesome murder has left the entire community, the school, as well the Harrison Seventh-day Adventist Church in Catherine Hall, where she worshipped, in mourning.

Yesterday, vice-principal at the school, Winsome Willis, told the Jamaica Observer that guidance counsellors from the Ministry of Education along with counsellors from the Mount Alvernia and St James High schools had been “offering support to the students at this difficult time.”

Willis, who worked with Lowe for over 17 years, described the deceased as “the kind of teacher that you could ask to do anything.”

“She taught geography, social studies, Spanish and music. We also asked her if she could work in the library, and she gladly did them all at the same time. She also worked part time for a number of years as assistant registrar. She was just a very versatile person, always pleasant and so willing to help in any way she could,” Willis recalled.

“Lowe was the kind of teacher that any school would grab,” she added, emphasising that Harrison Memorial has suffered a great loss.

“Parents, students and past students are grief-stricken and devastated. No one can ever replace Tania; she will be terribly missed,” said Willis.

President of West Jamaica Conference and Chairman of the Harrison Memorial High and Preparatory School board Astor Powers spoke of the impact the loss of Lowe has had on the church.

“We are shocked, the school and the church family are really shaken up. But amidst the grief and the sorrow we are hopeful, the Lord is helping us to cope. This is a constant reminder that we are living in the last days, the impact is much greater because this one is so close to us; but this is a reflection of the decadence of our society and these are the things that the Bible warns about,” Powers argued.

The police are yet to establish a motive for the killing.