GELI-ANN Campbell, a public relations executive, has vowed to stop at nothing to ensure those responsible for the brutal murder of her 20-year-old son, Taj Chung, on Tuesday night, are brought to justice.

“I am empty, angry and distraught. I have no purpose,” she told the Jamaica Observer during an interview at her home on Wednesday afternoon.

“I am not going to stop until I get to the bottom of it. My son is not in a gang or anything like that. He was my little sweetheart,” she said, her lips trembling as she spoke.

Around 9:00 pm Tuesday, Taj, who was in the process of setting up his own business, went to a store near where he was staying with his sister in the Mona area in St Andrew. On his way back home, he was attacked. He later succumbed to his injuries at hospital.

“He turned 20 in April. He was aspiring to be a business owner. He was in the process of purchasing equipment and was going to start a car detailing service. He was on the verge of starting that business. He was merely making a trek to make a purchase on the road at a nearby store. From my understanding, by what I was told by numerous people, it was after he left the store and was walking back to his sister’s house in the Mona area, in the vicinity of Mona Road, when he was pounced upon.

“From he was a child he always agreed that material things don’t matter. If someone stops and they take a phone or a wallet, it doesn’t matter because all of those things can be replaced. When he got older, I think it was maybe a year ago, he said, ‘Mommy, I still believe in that but if someone has taken something from me and they are proceeding to harm me, I must defend myself, and I believe that is what happened. He saw that his life was in danger and he tried to defend himself,” Campbell said.

On Wednesday, the Observer contacted the police’s Corporate Communications Unit and a female constable confirmed the incident. However, she was not in a position to provide details of the investigation into the murder.

According to Campbell, who has been corresponding with the police, there was an eyewitness to the stabbing and hopefully that the person will be of assistance in finding the perpetrators swiftly. Observer sources said that closed-circuit television cameras in the area may also have picked up the incident and expressed hope that it will be useful in guiding police investigations in the matter.

“I have given a commitment to the police that I will not impede the investigations, but my son’s death is not going to go just like that. I am going to get to the bottom of it and I will not stop until I find out who that perpetrator is, if it is the last thing I do,” Campbell vowed, adding that Chung, who attended Jamaica College, was quiet, unassuming and artistic.

“He drew very well. He was also into graphic designing which was kind of like a hobby for him. He designed two logos for me. He also sang well and I used to always encourage him to pursue a career in singing. I told him I could make him into a star but he never wanted his mother as a manager. He was my only child. His father has one other child. They are almost born on the same date, one year apart. She was born April 5, 2002 and he was born April 3, 2003. His sister can’t speak right now. My hope is that the police will run a thorough investigation and that they take this case seriously, and my hope is that my son’s murderers will not be walking free,” she said, angry and disappointed that she did not get to see him before he took his last breath.

“By the time I got to the hospital, he was already on the operating table and I was only in time to see the doctors come out and share the news. I didn’t get to see him and that hurts me because my baby was afraid and I wasn’t there. He was probably wondering where Mommy was,” she said, breaking down in tears.

Nickole Kellyman, a very close family friend who knew Chung from he was a baby, described him as a “sweet child”, who was, “very creative” and “loved his mother”.

“He got his creative side from her. As a child he was extremely loving. He was very respectful and it was something I admired in terms of how he dealt with others and how much he had respect for his elders. Words won’t be able to describe the kind of loss this is and in the manner in which he was lost. We are definitely hoping for a speedy resolution to what happened and that people who knew what happened would come forward to share the information so that we can get to the bottom of this. I don’t know how we will be able to cope with this situation. His mother is surrounded by friends and family and we continue to give her as much support as possible.”