Even as they struggle to deal with the shock of her horrific death, relatives of Dionne Stephens are also looking for all the help they can get to cover her funeral costs.
The Ministry of Human Services, Hollita Stephens said, has promised to provide half the cost of the funeral, while her sister’s former employer has also promised to contribute.
“We decide to go to the ministry for help because is my mother going to have to keep my sister four children,” Hollita explained.
Officials at the ministry, the woman said, gave her mother, Desiree Stephens, a voucher valued $20,000 to obtain school supplies for Dionne’s children.
Some time around 10 pm on Monday, Dionne was attacked by her former reputed husband Leon Robinson. The man, relatives alleged, tormented Dionne continuously during their seven-year relationship before he finally ended her life at the back of her mother’s Vigilance, East Coast Demerara home.
During this time Dionne’s four children aged 14 to nine years old, were witnesses to her psychological, physical and verbal abuse. This fact, Hollita said, was reported to social workers at the ministry and counselling sessions have since been arranged for the children after their mother’s funeral.
The children’s 57-year-old grandmother, Desiree, will have to care for them now, Hollita said. While she and other siblings want to take the children, their own circumstances, she said, prevent them from doing so.
“I got five children myself, my other sister got two and we lil sister does live with she to and we already finding it hard… my mother place small. Is only one bedroom she got and the other room that she does use as she kitchen and everything else,” Hollita explained. “Plus she got one bed so some of the children going to have to sleep on the floor.”
Desiree is employed as a security guard and makes around $18,000 per month. Even with the help promised by the Human Services Ministry it will be extremely hard for the woman to care of the children.
“They tell she that they going to help she finish building she house so she can have more space for the children… a person from the ministry supposed to come and see the place,” Hollita further said.
Meanwhile, Robinson, who was reportedly wounded when he attacked Dionne, fled to the backland area and was yet to be arrested up to late last night.
Hollita said that several of Robinson’s acquaintances have since said that the man contacted them via telephone after the murder. The woman also believes that Robinson has been in contact with his relatives and said reports are suggesting that the man has been in the Sophia area.
“Since dem police get the false alarm that dem find he [Robinson] dead and dem go search dem ain’t do back anything up to now… and me ain’t think they going to do anything,” Hollita told Stabroek News.
She had also alleged that Robinson had threatened to kill Dionne in the presence of police. This, Hollita said, occurred when police escorted her sister to the man’s Stratsphey home to collect her belongings. Several efforts have since been made to contact Commander of Police ‘C’ Division Gavin Primo for a comment. However, Primo could not be contacted up to late yesterday afternoon.
Hollita also said that clothes and other things belonging to Dionne’s children are still at the Stratsphey house.
