The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

D’Onya Bella Walker, the four-year-old who died while staying with relatives in New Providence on November 5, was finally laid to rest by her paternal relatives in Grand Bahama on Saturday.

The funeral took place at 11am at St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Hunters.

Family and well-wishers from near and far came to mourn, remember, and say a final farewell to Bella.

Also in attendance were Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey, Minister for Social Services and Urban Development Obie Wilchcombe, and Progressive Liberal Party Senator Kirkland Russell.

Bella died of blunt force trauma, according to police, and her death sparked national public interest and outcry over child abuse.

On Friday, Bella’s remains were flown to Freeport for a proper burial by relatives in Grand Bahama after a legally resolved custody battle over her remains with the maternal relatives in New Providence.

The body arrived on board a private aircraft at the Grand Bahama International Airport around noon. The casket was custom designed. There was a photo of Bella on the lid. There was also an image of Peppa Pig, a popular children’s cartoon character, on the coffin.

At the service on Saturday, Father David Cooper said Bella’s death was tragic, and he called for the families and the nation to begin the process of healing from this tragedy.

“This is tragic enough,” he said. “It is not to be played on social media platforms, not in the jurisdiction of someone wanting to look for a good story - stop speaking to the press.

“Please, for God’s sake, accept this loss,” Fr Cooper urged. “You never fully will but start the process; allow this to sink in.

“When I reflect on all of this, Bella’s death was indeed tragic; it was unnecessary, but the heart-wrenching thing is it was avoidable.”

Fr Cooper said the death of a child is the most unnatural and the hardest to bear. “We expect the old to die, sick people eventually they die, but a young child, in this case, four years old, who saw it coming?

“This kind of separation is difficult. And when a loved one who is young and tender as ‘Baby Bella,’ this is a different situation. We say that a life with beauty and wonder and potential... was snatched away.”

He stressed that when losing a child, the effect is widespread. It is not only the immediate family, but the extended family, communities, and even the nation who feel the loss, said the priest.

Fr Cooper believes that Bella’s burial should serve as a wake-up call for everyone.

“And, especially in this season when school is closed down, and adults like to think they are young people and go all about and we are dumping our children everywhere — we do it all the time. Some people don’t see their kids from school close to the day school is open. And that’s why these kinds of things happen.

“So, while four years is not enough, thanks be to God for those years. We will not forget Bella — we can’t. She has gone home to be with her Maker. She is now an angel in heaven,” Father Cooper said.

At the airport on Friday, a motorcade of cars decorated with pink balloons travelled close behind the hearse to Westside Memorial Mortuary in Eight Mile Rock.

Ranique Burrows, a close friend and spokesperson for the family, said that Bella’s paternal grandmother is heartbroken, but also relieved that Bella is finally home.

“For them, this means that she is able to come to a final resting place and it gives them a sense of peace that Bella is home,” she said on Friday.

When asked how Bella’s grandmother is doing, she said the family is still very hurt.

“The grandmother and the family are not able to speak so I am speaking for them. This is heartbreaking; she had four sons and never had a daughter and Bella was the closest thing God gave her to a daughter. They had a rough time trying to get her to stay permanently in their care, and for her to go to Nassau for two months and to return like this, is a lot to bear.”

Also at the airport, PLP Senator James Turner said Bella’s death is “a tragedy.”

“I came out because it just feels like the right thing to do when this type of thing happens to a young child, an innocent person, and a member of our community. If we could reverse this, all of us would reverse it. But we can’t, we can only give sympathy, and stand and support the family. This is truly a community tragedy.”

Kim Duncombe-Mouthra, a teacher and representative of The Brown Girls Club at Walter Parker Primary School, said Bella’s death touched her deeply.

“I am here to support our little girls. We had supported the family and Baby Bella from when we knew about it and we helped organise the ‘Justice For Bella’ March at the Independence Field (in November).

“And it touched me to know that such a little girl walked this way. I am here to support the family and let them know we are going to keep up the fight. It is not over. We have to make sure other little girls and boys don’t suffer like this.”