Goodbye, Pixie

They held placards bearing Pixie’s photographs and anti-crime slogans high over the sealed coffin, and marched to the pyre on the Shore of Peace, Mosquito Creek. Pixie, a 16-year-old pupil of the Palo Seco Government Secondary School, was raped and strangled, then buried in a forested area near her home on March 22.

She went missing for a month. Lakhan would have celebrated her 17th birthday on Saturday, but instead an Imam of the Islamic faith and a Christian priest yesterday said prayers over Pixie’s coffin, along with a pundit. The remains of the girl were sealed in the coffin, on top of which was a large framed photo of the Form Five student.

Reverend Ralph Umraw of the Presbyterian Church, Pastor Mathew Gabriel of the Seventh Day Adventists, Imam Billy Rahaman and pundit Kaso Maharaj all offered prayers.

Villagers nailed placards and photos on fences and light poles along Spring Trace. Some read: "Dear police, don’t let this happen again," "Two murders is enough." "Justice for Pixie" and "More police patrol."

In his sermon, Pundit Maharaj questioned Pixie’s assailant, saying: "One inhumane action — would you like that to happen to you and your family? All perpetrators of crime must think twice before they act." School pupils, including Pixie’s classmates, described the pencil-slim girl as a dedicated and loyal pupil who had the sweetest smile one could imagine.

As Pixie’s coffin was taken away, some of her classmates, dressed in uniform, shouted: "Don’t Go! Don’t Go!" One of them broke down in tears and collapsed under the tent. Pixie’s parents, Rampersad and Surujdai, and her two sisters, Mattie and Sumattie, walked alongside the coffin. Hundreds marched behind, out of Spring Trace and into the main road. The march continued towards the Shore of Peace, as Sumattie kept wiping tears from her father’s eyes.