The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

AS a new month begins, some children in The Bahamas are still learning how to live without a mother or father taken by murder — and the relatives now raising them are doing so while grieving themselves.

Tara Richardson is raising her 12-year-old grandson after both of his parents were killed by gun violence.

Her son, Keion Butler, was murdered in 2019 at age 23. That day, Mr Butler had gone to visit friends in Coconut Grove. He and others were sitting in a yard when men approached, opened fire and fled. He died at the scene.

Mrs Richardson said the boy, the only child of both parents, now lives with her. She has thrown herself into keeping him focused on school, sports and staying away from the streets.

“When I look at him, I look at my son,” she said. “I don't want to let him see me cry.”

She said some moments are harder than others — especially school events where other children are accompanied by their parents.

“Sometimes, you see, he's picking his head he probably thinking about it, but he don't come out and ask questions,” she said.

Keion Jr is a seventh-grade student at SC McPherson. Mrs Richardson said her prayer is that he grows into a good man despite the circumstances that shaped his childhood.

Asked if she has forgiven those responsible for her son’s death, she said she does not believe she ever can.

In another home, 11-year-old Ri’Anna Melidor is trying to turn her grief into support for others. The Ridgeland Primary School head girl lost her father to gun violence on January 14, 2022.

Her grandmother, Stephanie Johnson, said the child wants to start a club for children who have lost parents to violence, calling it a big dream she hopes to realise.

Ms Johnson said Ri’Anna sometimes has low moods when she misses her father, but relatives remind her how much he loved her. She added that the child’s mother has been a steady source of support.

Khandi Gibson, president of Families of All Murder Victims, said the public often overlooks the children left behind after murders.

Ms Gibson, whose own brothers were killed, said seeing the impact on their children pushed her to form the support group.

“We can't expect them just digest that,” she said. “They didn't ask to come here. This is not their fault. They shouldn't be able to be blamed for something they have no control over.”

She urged the public to be more compassionate, noting that many people are quietly carrying deep pain.