Remembering Denmark Stewart: A brother's grief

Karrie Williams, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

September 29, 2010 is a date that will forever be etched in the memory of Sheldon Shaw. It was the day he lost his younger brother, Denmark 'Copper' Stewart, who was killed by gunmen in Retirement, St James.

"There are days when I feel such immense pain … . Time doesn't make it any easier; time only solidifies the fact that I will never again see my best friend and brother and that is the reality my family and I have been forced to live with on a daily basis," said Shaw during an interview with The Gleaner.

Stewart, who lived in Retirement all his life, was the unfortunate victim of a turf war in the community.

According to Shaw, his brother was killed because he was "at the wrong place at the wrong time".

He noted that sections of the community called Red Dirt and Nompariel were at war with each other and he thinks his brother was killed in reprisal. To date, the St James police have not been successful in apprehending anyone for the crime.

Stewart's death is among the hundreds of murders that have marred the parish of St James since 2006. Most of those killed were reportedly acts of reprisal or straight gangland activities.

The Granville community, which includes Retirement district, has also ranked highly among the hotspots for murders and other high-profile criminal activities.

In 2013, a total of 166 murders were recorded in St James.

HAD BIG DREAMS

At the time of his killing, Stewart was only a few days into his 29th year, with big dreams of fulfilling his ambitions. Chief among them was to work harder at his construction job to enable him to provide a better life for his two young children, and a third, who was eight months on the way. His family depended on him solely for financial support.

"He was such a good father to his children. He did his best to make sure that they were always provided for, and for him to just be taken away from them for no good reason, that is the part that hurts our family the most," Shaw said.

The grieving brother further disclosed that Stewart was also the favourite child for their late mother, who passed away last March after a prolonged illness, spurred on by the loss of her son.

"His death really affected our mother. She lost a significant amount of weight very soon after Copper died, and her health continued on a downward spiral from there onwards," Shaw said, clearly fighting back the tears that had welled up in his eyes.

With the emotional void the murder has created, Shaw is appealing to the perpetrators of heinous crimes to put down their guns and live in love and harmony.

"Just stop the killing, please. We grow up together so there is no reason for us to be killing off each other …. Robbing and killing each other is not the answer to poverty. Let us come together in love and unity and work hard to achieve our own individual goals," he contended.