Mom wants death penalty for killers of pregnant daughter
... bike taxi operator also slain in Westmoreland attack
Published:Friday | March 25, 2022 | 12:08 AMHopeton Bucknor/Gleaner Writer
The mother of 24-year-old Tascian Copeland, the pregnant woman among two persons murdered while travelling on a bike taxi in Westmoreland on Wednesday night, is calling for the Government to resume hanging.
Copeland was returning home from work about 11 p.m. on Wednesday when she and 32-year-old Dwayne ‘Wacky’ Robinson, a popular bike taxi operator of Whitehall in Negril, were ambushed by armed men along the Nonpareil Road.
Copeland, who was four months’ pregnant, was shot in the head, while Robinson sustained bullet wounds to his upper body.
Robinson lost control of the motorcycle, which then crashed into the side of a building housing a betting outlet.
The police were summoned and the victims rushed to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
On Thursday, Una Copeland vowed to keep praying until her daughter’s killers were brought to justice even as she called for the State to punish murderers more severely.
“I wish hanging would come back. A dat di prime minister fi do – bring back hanging,” the grieving mother said.
“Mi a go a knee city pon mi two knee,” she added, warning the killers to turn from their wicked ways.
“There is a God, and there is a judgement coming fi everyone a wi weh unfair,” she said. “Stop from kill people cause your time deh come ‘cause what goes around comes around. You can’t walking around with illegal guns killing people pickney innocent.”
Robinson’s relatives also condemned the murders, recalling the father of six as very hard-working and was friendly.
“He was a wonderful father to his children and whether yuh seh good or bad to him, him always a laugh,” his sister, Feonia Simms, said.
“It [is] very shocking,” she added, telling The Gleaner that the family was shaken up by the tragedy.
Western Westmoreland Member of Parliament Morland Wilson promised to assist the victim’s families, knowing that Robinson died leaving six children and five babymothers.
“ ... I’m looking for the police to really take some action to curtail this. We don’t want to have another interview next week and we have another tragic incident such as this,” he added.
The Westmoreland police are seeking one man for questioning in connection with the murders.
The parish recorded two double murders just two days apart.
On Monday, 35-year-old Soneil Leslie and 22-year-old Nicholas Warlock were shot and killed at a shop in High Gate in Darliston, Westmoreland.
Since the start of the year, 30 persons have been slain in the parish.