72-year-old granny burnt to death

A FAMILY suspects that aftershocks from Thursday night’s earthquake were responsible for yesterday’s death by fire of 72-year-old San Juan grandmother, Theresa Hackshaw. Around 4.30 am, residents of Pepper Hill, Laventille Road, Febeau Village, San Juan, were alerted to a fire coming from Hackshaw’s wooden house. Firemen  rushed to the scene and put out the fire. On searching the ruins, they found Hackshaw’s body burnt beyond recognition, crouched near her bed.

Family members dismissed the possibility of an electrical fire and blamed it on the possibility of a lighted lamp in the dining room being thrown over from either the earthquake that was felt around midnight, or one of several aftershocks. When Newsday visited Hackshaw’s daughter Gloria Sylvester, she was still in shock and could not come to terms with her mother’s death. “My mother was a strong woman who, at the age of 72, was still strong and active. That is why she lived by herself. “While we will miss her, we are not overly sad because she lived her life, worked hard and was committed to her church and God.” Hackshaw will be buried at the San Juan Cemetery on Wednesday after a service at the Open Bible Church, San Juan.