Husband stoned, beaten at wife’s funeral

Paul Stephens can’t seem to catch a break.

Stephens, who lost his wife Jetonnia on Thursday, May 10 to a heart attack and was accused of killing her before the cause of death was determined, was beaten on Sunday during his wife’s burial.

Stephens told SEARCHLIGHT that he was at the Chauncey cemetery where his wife was being laid to rest after a church service at the Questelles Seventh Day Adventist Church when he heard a man make a sound, after which he was struck in the face with a stone.

He said the sound appears to have been a signal and after the initial blow, he was attacked by a group of about five men who he does not know.

“I think everything going well, next thing I see some stray boys attack me at the funeral just so,” Stephens told SEARCHLIGHT while speculating that his attackers may have been relatives of his wife who still believe that he had something to do with her passing.

“They just start to fight me pelting stone and blocks whatever,” said Stephens who was hit by a stone which left a cut on his face, which had to be treated at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH). He said he also received several blows to the head.

Stephens said he escaped with the help of some female relatives who shielded him, allowing him to flee the cemetery, get into a vehicle and travel to the nearby Questelles Police Station where he filed a report.

“They were violent, very violent boys, acting very violent. They will be around 30 or 35 years old, big men, old men just acting so after them hear what done happen already,” said Stephens who also revealed that one of the men asked his (Stephen’s) brother if he was the widower and after his brother said no, more queries were made that led to him being identified.

Since the death of his wife, Stephens has undergone several other bad experiences. Apart from being accused of having something to do with his late wife’s death by villagers, he was criticized on social media and talk show radio.

The man who has a four-month-old baby to care for and played the piano at his wife’s funeral service, says in addition to seeking criminal prosecution of his attackers, he will also seek the advice of a lawyer in relation to comments made on live radio by several persons.

He is awaiting a number of audio recordings to take to his lawyer.
 
The former Chateaubelair resident who moved to Barrouallie 10 years ago and worships at the Layou Miracle Church told SEARCHLIGHT in an earlier interview that he believes demons are real, and they attack persons in different ways. 

Sunday’s attack brings the number of vigilante style happenings in the last 10 days to two. Simeon “Gabo” Francois was apprehended, beaten and handed over to police on May 18 at Petit Bordel before being charged for several sexual offences.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Frankie Joseph is encouraging persons to desist from such acts.