Double tragedy
Family gutted with grief as boy jailed for stabbing stepdad
Published:Wednesday | March 30, 2022 | 12:12 AMOlivia Brown/Gleaner Writer
Last Thursday, Conroy Morgan and his wife celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. But in a cruel twist of fate, the celebratory spirit in the family home was short-lived.
Morgan, the family’s sole breadwinner, was stabbed to death on Monday, allegedly by his 16-year-old stepson, who has been taken into police custody.
Relatives told The Gleaner that an argument ensued between Morgan and the teen over the use of a bathroom at their home in Environs district in Four Paths, Clarendon.
Reports are that about 6:40 p.m., Morgan and teen were at home when an argument developed between them.
Morgan, 45, used a kitchen knife to stab the teen on his left hand. The teen then reportedly used a knife to stab Morgan to the left side of his neck. He ran through the back door and fell to the ground.
Morgan was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The scene at the family home on Tuesday was a telling tale of the terror that unfolded hours before. There was bloodstained grass and building material and traces of blood around the house bore testament to the tragedy that has rocked the usually quiet community.
The teen’s uncle said the incident has devastated the family.
“To how the man (Morgan) loving and everybody love the man, why this boy kill the man? A the man work and put food pan the table, send the boy a school, and deep down in your heart you carry grievance fi the man? Fi wah?” the uncle, who requested anonymity, questioned.
But amid commendation of Morgan’s character, relatives told The Gleaner that he and his stepson had a long-standing feud.
The teen’s uncle theorised that the dispute stemmed from the teen’s disregard of his mother and Morgan’s relationship.
“It’s like the guy jealous over him mother. He’s an only child, so a just jealousy cause this,” he asserted.
The teen’s uncle said too that relatives were taken aback by an alleged remark made by the teen following the incident.
“Him a tell the policeman say them fi make haste do wha’ them a do, ‘cause him have class tomorrow. Wha’ kind a class? Him done with class,” the uncle said.
The teen’s aunt was a picture of pain and disbelief when she spoke with The Gleaner.
“Mi sister nuh have nutten lef’. She lose her one son and her husband,” she bemoaned, asserting the possibility of the teen being imprisoned for the murder.
She shared that her sister and Morgan had a loving relationship, which she described as a beautiful love story. “The material weh God use make my sister husband nuh make again,” she said. She spoke feelingly of her brother-in-law, whom she affectionately called ‘Uncle Jeffrey’.
“Uncle Jeffrey was one the nicest persons I ever come across. He’s loved by everybody. We will never get over this. He’s my brother-in-law, but he’s my friend.”
The aunt, who lives next door to Morgan’s home, said she was alerted by screams from another neighbour, who was crying that Morgan had been killed.
She described the relationship as turbulent.
“Make me tell you the truth wha’ God love. ... My nephew never loved him and him never hide it. There was no love between them,” the aunt told The Gleaner.
Meanwhile, Uphell Purcell, councillor for the York Town division in Clarendon South Western, is appealing to citizens to find amicable ways to resolve disputes.
“What transpired last night was never something that should cause anything like this, so I’m imploring the youngsters, please: Whenever the mind or heart come across you to do something wrong, just hold back yourself, go and speak to an elder, or even another peer,” said Purcell.
The Clarendon police are also probing Sunday’s stabbing death of a 13-year-old boy in Crofts Hill.
A 31-year-old man was also victim of a mob killing in the May Pen Market on Saturday.