Outstanding track star loses battle 15 months after being stabbed
She was the baby of the family, the youngest child for her mother, an athlete with potential and promise, which was cut short by tragedy.
Seventeen-year-old Alia Mc Dowall was a rising track star who represented her school- the Barrouallie Secondary, her Club -High Performance Track Club, and St Vincent and the Grenadines both locally and regionally.
The Barrouallie resident and outstanding athlete died on Sunday morning March 1, 2026, fifteen months after being stabbed. Sunday was also the BSS’ annual sports day.
In March, 2024, six months prior to being stabbed, she was the female champion in the senior category at the Inter-Secondary Schools Athletics Championships (ISSAC), held at the Sir Vincent Beache Stadium, Diamond.
Alia was allegedly stabbed outside her school on November 28, 2024 by Doriel Duncan, a student of the Bethel High School. Duncan also formerly attended BSS.
Family and friends said after the stabbing incident, Alia’s life changed drastically, as she battled numerous health problems.
“She got stabs about five times, but the major life-changing one was the one in the throat, it punctured her trachea. After the incident, they had to do emergency surgery here on her, after which she had to be flown out to Trinidad, where another major surgery was done.
“She was never able to go back to school since she was in and out of the hospital. She was feeding from a tube. So her life changed drastically,” a family member recalled sadly.
The family member recounted the last occasion on that they saw the teen alive at the hospital.
“We saw her Saturday night, like after 11 pm, she wasn’t responsive, she wasn’t good. But we were very hopeful, because when she was in Trinidad, we had seen her in that state before, and she lived, so we were a bit optimistic that she would pull through.” However, on Sunday morning, March 1, 2026,they got the call that she had passed away.
She had been in the hospital since January, after previously spending three months. In the last two weeks, Alia had two surgeries, and on Saturday night, a public appeal was made for blood donations for the former student.
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