Daughter demands justice in dad’s fiery death
Published:Wednesday | February 17, 2021 | 5:04 AMJudana Murphy/Gleaner Writer
The daughter of 57-year-old Junior Williams, whose charred remains were found in his burnt-out home on January 17, is demanding justice even as investigations linger.
The deceased, a resident of Ragsville in Guy’s Hill, St Catherine, had an ongoing family dispute over property he allegedly damaged.
The following day, the police visited his daughter, Kimmeca Moodie, concerning demands for compensation.
She believes that the incidents may be linked.
However, the police reported that they are awaiting the post-mortem before proceeding with a case which up to now has been classified as an undetermined death.
A suspect has not been held.
A grieving Moodie told The Gleaner that her father had been suffering from a mental illness for the past six years and was being treated at the community health centre.
“I had a very close relationship with him,” said the 30-year-old only child.
“I see him almost every day and the last time I saw him was the Friday before they murdered him.”
Moodie described her father as a calm and caring man who cultivated a variety of crops in the community.
House Razed
She was alerted on the fateful Sunday afternoon by a neighbour, who told her that her father’s house had been razed.
“When I came it was around 4 o’ clock. He was lying in the corner and it was just bones,” said Moodie, adding that she called the police, who in turn summoned the fire brigade.
To her knowledge, a suspect has not been charged.
“Sometimes I have thoughts about him or memories and the tears just come,” she expressed.
During her childhood, Moodie made several visits to Waltham Park, Kingston, where her father resided before moving back to Ragsville a decade ago.
“He would take me around to different places. He was just a great father. Nothing was too much for him to give me and my son, Joshua,” she recounted.
On Sundays, Williams would take the 10-minute walk to Moodie’s house for dinner or she would take it to him at home.
“I will miss his presence, especially in the morning. When he’s passing to go to the farm, he would always call me or if he brings anything from the farm, he would stop by,” she said.
District officer at the Linstead Fire Station, Calvin Brown, told The Gleaner that Williams’ body was found under a burnt bed. The cause of the fire is unknown.
“The fire seemed like it took place maybe half a day before. We didn’t respond to a house on fire; we didn’t get a call,” Brown said.