(Trinidad Guardian) For 14 agonising and terrifying hours, 12-year-old Princemerci Burke remained at the hands of his kidnapper in a forested area in the hills of Dibe, Long Circular, St James, on Friday, praying for his safe release.
Scared, confused, and unable to see in the pitch-dark, Princemerci made good his escape after his captor let his guard down. In his attempt to get away, Princemerci fell into a ditch and had to crawl out to find his way home. With clasped hands yesterday, the boy, during an exclusive interview with the Sunday Guardian, thanked God for sparing his life.
“I am lucky to be alive. I feel blessed,” he said, trying hard to contain his emotions as he remained traumatised by the incident. Up to yesterday, Princemerci’s kidnapper remained at large as a team of soldiers and police continued the search for him.
Police have identified Jassany Baptiste, a repeat criminal offender, as a person of interest.
The ordeal with Princemerci began with his mother, Anna Innis-Burke, on Friday following a domestic violence dispute at her Dibe Road, Long Circular, St James home. Innis-Burke, 41, was dragged out of her house around 3 am by a man she shared a six-month relationship with and was forced to walk along Belle Vue Road, where she was stabbed multiple times in her left leg and back.
As the attacker plunged the knife into Innis-Burke’s flesh, he vowed to kill Princemerci—her last child. A bleeding Innis-Burke was dragged by her hair a few feet away but was saved by a man driving a panel van.
The attacker’s intention was to get Innis-Burke to a nearby abandoned hotel to end her life.
After fleeing the scene, the man went to Innis-Burke’s home around 5 am, where he awakened Princemerci from his sleep. “He told me I’m going by grandpa who lives close by,” said Princemerci, a Form One student.
Princemerci said instead of heading to his grandparents’ home, the kidnapper started heading to the mountains, gripping his side, so he would not escape. Realising that something was wrong, Princemerci said he asked for his mom. “He told me he shoot she in her shoulder and leg.”
The boy said his heart sank, but he put up a brave front and questioned the man to show him the gun. “He say he dropped it because he was scared. I know he was lying because I saw him playing with his knife.”
As morning broke, the captor headed further into the hills with Princemerci. They remained hiding in the towering grass and trees with nothing to eat or drink. “He kept saying, ‘don’t move from here’, that if I moved, he would break my legs. I kept telling him my grandparents’ house was not too far away,” Princemerci said. After spending a few hours in one location, the boy was taken to another area, where they crossed a river and climbed up a makeshift step. At one point, the kidnapper took Princemerci to a village shop, where he purchased snacks and something for the boy to drink.
They trekked back up the mountain and stayed near the river. As darkness fell around 7 pm, Princemerci said he made up his mind to get away.
“I take a few steps and didn’t see him. I just started to run and fall into a ditch.” Princemerci said he took off his slippers and climbed out of the hole, unable to see anything around him.
Crawling out of the hole, Princemerci sustained multiple scratches and cuts on his legs. “I was scared. I started to run again and heard some dogs barking and some voices. I realised I was heading to my grandparents’ house.”
A determined Princemerci said, “I know by the end of the day I would have been home.” Innis-Burke tearfully reunited with her son, whom she thought had been murdered or severely harmed.
“When I heard he escaped, I felt a sense of relief to know that he was safe. I was in a lot of pain … heart pain, all the pain possible.”
Like her son, Innis-Burke said, she too felt lucky to be alive.
“I just thankful we are safe. He really wanted to kill me. He wanted to get me to that old hotel to kill me. But when he reached the road, ah tell myself, this man can’t kill you today. Not today.”
Innis-Burke said if she did not use her initiative to escape her attacker, she might have been dead.
“I would not have been talking today. Yesterday (Friday) was a terrifying day.” As she spoke, beads of perspiration streamed down her neck and chest, her face wincing in pain.
Innis-Burke warned women who are in a strained relationship not to stick around and hope things will get better. “Don’t wait; that is what I did. Don’t wait and feel like you could fix a situation. Once you see signs of violence or weirdness, get out!”
She said she tried to help the man. “I thought I could ah fix him … I watched him as a troubled soul because I am a praying woman too. I say I could still help him with prayers. But clearly, I couldn’t.”
Innis-Burke said the man became overly obsessive and jealous. “That is what sparked the whole thing because I told him I was done.