Desna Hanson, 70, one of the five persons who occupied the Rose Hall house in St Elizabeth, believed to be tormented by ghost for over three months, died last Tuesday from what family members believe to be stress caused from the incidents.

“If it wasn’t for this my mother would be living today,” Cebert Hanson, son of the deceased told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

“Because imagine say the house burn down, her foot cut off, and she go through a lot of things — can’t sleep, can’t eat because pot knock off fire and dem things deh. A God say, well then because of the whole lot of things she have to go through — pure pain and whatsoever, him just say all right you can’t bear anymore because is three months straight you bear it, so just as cheap you come home,” he reasoned.

Hanson said that his mother lost one of her legs some weeks ago, after receiving a scrape when she fell down as she tried to escape a stone attack on the family that had become a regular pasttime for the evil spirits believed to be the source of the ongoing torment.

“She got a cut and she lost her foot, and they (nurses) tested her pressure and sugar on Monday and the two of them did high and buck,” Hanson said. “And you know because the house burn down and she lose her foot we have to say is stress that really kill her.”

He said too that the bruise she received was not noted as reason for concern even by a doctor she visited.

“She just get a little bruise on her foot, just a little bruise,” he said. “Because when they bring her to the doctor, the doctor just looked at it but it wasn’t any big cut, the skin just rub off little but because she have the sugar, cause normally when she get cut she have to know what she doing ’cause it will break out in sore. But because of how the little bruise did stay we not looking to say well then it would really lead up to that. We had it tape up and thing but all this time it was turning black and blue under the bottom. And when she go doctor they say it gathering gangrene so the best thing was to get the foot cut off.”

He said that his mother got the cut about two months ago and while it was not caused by a direct hit by stones being thrown at them by unseen sources, it took place when she fell down in an attempt to escape the blows.

“She was running and something scrape her on it. So it cause through that. Is that why my mother die. Because if it wasn’t that, my mother would be living today day. It’s just because of the incident why that happen.”

After weeks of mysterious burning of furniture and household items, and reports of people being hit with stones thrown by “invisible” hands, the house, located in Rose Hall district, was on June 5 completely gutted by flames of unknown origin.

After that, the occupants of the house reportedly went to stay with relatives in St Mary, only to have similar incidents occurring. They were asked to leave and moved back to the district to stay with Hanson who was living only a few chains away from the burnt out home. The incident again continued.

However, Hanson said that the strange occurrence came to a halt about two weeks ago. This was shortly after himself and his sibling who were not yet Christians, became saved.

“You see God? I know that there is a God and we always call on God and you know that God not giving a man more than he can bear,” he said. “Especially if him know that you innocent of certain things and God a look down and see the tribulation that you a bear. So time is longer that rope and God give him (evil spirit) the length of the rope and when time come him have to stop. But you know that the house burn down, my mother lose her foot and everybody out a door under stress. But you see there is a God and mi believe in a God and every night we go we bed and we pray.”

But he said, his mother met an untimely death which is now causing the family grief.

“It grieve me how my mother die because I could see my mother right now and be around her right now and this is the way how my mother dead. It grieve me,” he said. “We nuh get nuh help or nothing from anybody and if it wasn’t this, my mother would be living today. A this incident mek my mother lose her life. God never ready to take her yet. When you hear people seh when you time come is your time, but ‘uncall for’ death exist, because my mother never ready yet and mi can talk that. But the one who send this (evil spirit) on the family and call down disgrace on us over the whole 14 parishes and over the whole world that we don’t deserve, because we are hard working people, and my mother live her life. And this is the way how they make my mother dead? But eye water nah stop shed for whosoever do it,” the grieving son lamented. “I grew up with my mother. Is five of us my mother have and she never leave us to go nowhere. And is this the way they let my mother die?”

He said that while it is rough on the family they know it could have been worse as more lives could have been lost.

“We wake up and we see everybody strong, even though we mother die but we have to just keep believing in the Almighty,” he said. “If it wasn’t God we wouldn’t be standing up right now. But God not giving a man more than he can bear!”

‘Ms Desna’ as Hanson is known in her community has lived in the community all her life, occupying her now burnt out home for 60 of her 70 years. She has been married for 47 years. Upon the Sunday Observer’s visit to the house in May, Hanson had stated that she had never seen anything like this and that it needed strong Christian to visit and pray for the family’s survival against the mysterious attacks.