Why Jesus take mummy?

Five months pregnant, Phillip, 28, was found shot dead in her home, a ground floor apartment at Thompson Street, Gasparillo on Sunday morning.

Her daughter, Kayla, was not with her but had spent Saturday night with Seepersad who lives in an apartment on the same premises.

Kayla, who attends the Lady Hochoy Home in Gasparillo, and her mother shared a close bond and were always seen together Newsday was told during a visit to her grandmother’s home yesterday.

Seepersad said the family is having a hard time accepting Phillip’s death, especially Kayla.

“Kayla is asking me why Jesus had to take her mother,” said the tearful grandmother.

Kayla, she said, is very intelligent and understands her mother is dead, but cannot understand why.

“She wants to know why did her mother have to go so soon, I could not answer that, but I explained to her that her mother is now in heaven.” Kayla now looks up at the sky and smiles as she knows her mother is with God, her aunt, Nikita also told Newsday.

Kayla, who uses a wheelchair, and her mother spent a few days in Tobago recently, Seepersad said, and the trip was a memorable one for her.

Seepersad spoke highly of her daughter, describing her as a loving and kind-hearted person who would offer her last plate of food to a hungry stranger.

Neighbour Anthony “Boy Boy” John found Phillip’s body shortly before 10 am on Sunday.

He told investigators he went to her apartment and called out to Phillip several times, and when she did not answer he peeped inside and saw her on the ground.

He immediately ran to the back of the one-storey apartment building and called out to Philip’s mother.

Phillip was shot once, investigators said. They believe the young mother was killed about nine hours before she was found. Phillip was last seen at about 11.30 pm on Saturday when she left Kayla with her mother.

Phillip’s home was not ransacked and nothing was missing and police believe she may have known her killer.

Residents told police that earlier Sunday morning they heard the sound of a single gunshot, but did not pay any mind to it until the young mother’s body was found.

Members of the Cerebral Palsy Association yesterday visited the family yesterday.

President Philip Metivier said they were was saddened by the tragic death and vowed to support Kayla and her family.

Metivier said Kayla and her mother attended the group’s last meeting for the month on Saturday.

Police are yet to determine a motive, but senior officers yesterday said they are pursuing several leads.

An autopsy is expected to be performed today at the Forensic Science Centre, St James.