Young man ends his life at family’s home

The parents of suicide victim, Dominic Spencer, want other young people to learn from their son’s “unfortunate death” last Monday night.{{more}}

A police report said that an autopsy performed on Dominic’s body determined that he died from hanging.

The lifeless body of the 17-year-old Redemption Sharpes resident was found by his stepfather, David Primus, at about 11:35 p.m. Monday, hanging on the left side of their one-story concrete home, with a piece of cable wire wrapped around his neck.

Erla Spencer described her son as “humble”, “respectable” and on most occasions, a “quiet individual”.

After seeing her son’s lifeless body, Spencer said she broke down in tears and cried continuously.

She also said that her son was a born-again Christian, who was very inspirational to her and others.

“He used to write songs and when you sat and listened to him sing those songs, it touched your heart. He really loved church.

“He was also a joyful person. Sometimes we in the bedroom, he would come jump between his mummy and daddy (Dominic referred to Primus as his father) and we would talk,” the mourning mother said.

She, however, noted that her son seemed to have lost his way and wanted to deal with whatever issues he had on his own.

“I want to tell young people, even though you are a Christian, that’s when the devil attack you more.

“He was fighting so much to be with God, but he seemed to reach in an area where the devil got a hold of him. I encourage other young people to seek help from an elder or someone in their church, if they are faced with any problem.

“It’s not good to deal with issues on your own as a young person,” Erla said.

The mother described her son’s state of mind as “trying to live for God, but distracted by the devil.”

She disclosed that the night before his death, they spoke briefly, as she was concerned about his actions and wanted to know why his attitude had suddenly changed.

“Whatever he was facing, it changed him completely to a different person and he lost focus. And when he couldn’t deal with things, he would walk away.

“Even though I tried to talk to him that night and asked him, ‘Dominic, what did I do to you to make you treat me so?’ And he walked off.

“It was like he wanted to tell me something, but he didn’t know how to tell me. I told him talk to me, but he didn’t,” she said.

Meanwhile, his stepfather, David Primus, who played the father figure role since Dominic was three years old and considered him as his own son, said he is still in shock.

He explained that while the boy was growing up, he and Dominic used to spend a lot of time together hanging out, but as Dominic got older and entered the teenage years, the relationship became distant.

Primus said Dominic no longer wanted to be in his company.

“His was my boy! He used to hang with me. We used to go places, play games and all sorts of things. But after he would come and tell me that he reached an age where he doesn’t want to hang with his father. He wants to hang with his own company and that’s when he went astray.

“I always taught my son to be a leader, not a follower, because anytime you follow people that is where you go down the drain,” a teary eyed Primus said.

Primus also warned other young people not to try and face their problems on their own.

“They need help! And that is what I’ve been trying to tell my son. He had problems and he needed help and he tried to face it alone and instead of coming to us for help, he rejected us.

“You cannot reject people who want to help you. You need the help to overcome whatever the situation is,” he stated.

Dominic also leaves behind to mourn two sisters and two brothers, who also live in the household.

His younger sister, Moesha, told SEARCHLIGHT that she loved her brother very much and will miss him a lot.

“It’s just sad,” she said.

Aunt Donna Spencer said she last saw her nephew just a couple of hours before he died.

She revealed that she asked Dominic what kind of problem he was having with his mother and stepfather.

“He didn’t tell me the problem, but I told him I heard he is disrespecting them both and he told me that his mother and father must know that he is getting big. I talked to him and told him the company that he is now keeping, those are not the kind of

company he needs to keep

and I don’t like it.

“He left and came back over by me and he say ‘Aunty Donna ah going home.’

“I said Dominic, go straight home! He said ‘yes, Aunty Donna, ah going straight home,” the Aunt explained, as she broke down in tears.

Dominic attended the Intermediate High School at McKies Hill, where he was a fourth form student.

“He was a member of Blue House and he was a very active member. He was also a drummer. He also wrote songs and performed them during Assembly, said Alinda Hypolite, Principal of the school.

“He was a helpful and friendly individual.”

Dominic’s death brings to five, the number of suicides reported here so far, for the year.