IT was an emotional moment on Tuesday evening for relatives of 17-year-old Alecia King as she was flown to the United States for surgery, after she was doused with gas and set ablaze last Thursday, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, in Linstead, St Catherine.

Alecia’s stepmother Julian Mendez, who began to speak in tongues while standing on the tarmac at Norman Manley International Airport, thanked God, the Sanmerna Foundation, and everyone who played a role in flying the teen to Shriners Hospital for Children in Texas.

She was flown in a Trinity Air Ambulance jet.

The 18-year-old’s ex-boyfriend, who allegedly set the teen on fire while she slept in bed early Thursday morning, has been on the run since. The last thing Mendez said before boarding the airbulance with King was that the accused should turn himself in to the police. The ex-boyfriend has failed to report to the police, even after numerous appeals.

“They need to catch him now or he needs to turn in himself,” she said before lamenting the critical state the teen is in.

“I am nervous but I am very grateful,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Demar King, Alecia’s brother, described the act against his sister as evil, and he too appealed to the accused to turn himself in.

“The family is hit by this hard. She did her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams this year and on the day when she was to receive her results she got burned.

“Personally I don’t know the fellow but I want to tell him to turn himself in. This was a cruel act, an act of great evil. What you did will affect her life permanently. This was a destructive act. Turn yourself in and let justice take its course,” the brother appealed.

“She is such a brilliant girl. She is sweet, caring and loving. When she is around, you feel comfortable and at peace. She is always helpful. She is always mannerable. For something like this to happen to her it is very sad. It would have been better for this situation to not have happened. Seeing that it happened and the critical state that she is in, I am sure that she is now in good hands. I thank the Sanmerna Foundation for helping to make this a possibility. It happened so fast. The situation required rapid action, and that was definitely executed,” he added.

The last conversation he had with his sister was about a month ago, when she called to apologise for missing a babyshower for his baby that was on the way.

“She wasn’t able come but she called and apologised for not being there. That was a month ago,” he said.

Stephen Josephs, projects manager of Sanmerna Foundation, the entity leading the mission to help Alecia, thanked the doctors at University Hospital of the West Indies for keeping Alecia stable.

“The doctors did a very good job to stabilise Alecia; she could only tolerate the flight based on how stable she was. The doctors at Shriners are waiting to commence treatment,” Josephs said.

Robert White, director of Sanmerna Foundation, meanwhile issued an appeal to jealous boyfriends not to make their jealousy get the better of them.

Seeing the aircraft lift off with Alecia, White described the feeling as bittersweet.

“This is bittersweet. Whenever there is going to be domestic violence, just walk away. That simple walk away can save your life and it can save other people’s lives. Take in consideration that this is a young girl; she is just 17. The person who set her ablaze is 18 years old. Their lives will not be the same again after what happened. I’m asking Jamaicans to stop domestic violence,” White said.