It’s been a year since Kimberly de Leon was fatally shot in her own home as she prepared for bed. Her two children were also at home; her police officer husband later claimed he was at work at the time. To commemorate her daughter’s death, Mary Williams held a candle-light vigil march on Tuesday. Just over twenty people gathered in George Mallet Serenity Park, their candles held high. Most of the attendees were family members or close friends. The marchers were then escorted by the police down John Compton Highway to Constitution Park as they shouted: “We want justice! Justice for Kimberly!” I was in the process of capturing a moment when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to be confronted by a tall, young man with his headphones on.
“What’s going on?” he asked. After I’d told him he asked: “Who was Kimberly de Leon?” I supplied further details, including that the police had made a number of contradictory statements about the fatal shooting at the Morne. I added that there were no suspects. His curiosity satisfied, the young man adjusted his headphones and walked away.
Another curious passerby also wanted to know what the chanting was about. I obliged and she said: “I heard someone talking about a march on Timothy Poleon’s show.” That someone was Mary Williams, Kimberly’s mother. Her interview with the host of Newsspin had little impact, obviously. It seems the public a long time ago had gotten over the horror of Kimberly’s death last October. Not so her mother. Neither Kimberly’s two young children, also at the march. Nothing at Constitution Park suggested more than a handful of citizens cared about “Justice for Kimberly!”
No surprise that the deceased wife of a police officer was not mentioned in parliament on Tuesday. Evidently, she did not rate as highly as “barrels and Christmas toys”.
