Ollivierre family in state of shock after tragedy

Coleen Ollivierre faced news of her daughter’s tragic death over the weekend with a measure of composure, but travelling to Barbados yesterday to see her body and make preparations for her return{{more}} to St.Vincent and the Grenadines were expected to pose new challenges that she was unsure she would be able bear.

The Kingstown Hill resident told SEARCHLIGHT on Sunday afternoon that she and her family were thrown into a state of shock on Friday night when they learnt of the death in Barbados of Coleen’s third child, 24-year-old Kellisha Ollivierre.

Kellisha, an employee of Campus Trendz, on Tudor Street, Bridgetown, for the past three and a half years, was killed last Friday evening with five other women during a robbery at the boutique.The robbers, before leaving, threw a fire bomb into the store, which exploded and killed the women who were trapped in the buidling.

Coleen said the news came as a shock, because at about 5:35 p.m.,while on the way to her Kingstown Hill home with Kimisha, Kellisha’s younger sister, Kellisha had called to let them know that Jimell, her brother in the British Navy, was trying to get in touch with them.

The grieving mother said Kellisha promised to call later that evening, but that call never came.

At about 7:37p.m., Kemmel, Coleen’s eldest son, received a telephone call from Barbados informing him that the store where Kellisha worked had been robbed and she was trapped on the inside.

“I said that’s impossible. I said if something like that is happening, my sister who lives in Barbados would have called,” said Coleen. She added that three calls were made to Kellisha at that point, but there was no reply.

That night just after midnight, after several calls between St.Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados, Coleen received confirmation from Kellisha’s employer’s daughter that Kellisha had died in the fire.

Coleen described her daughter, a former employee of Lady J and a past student of the Intermediate High School as a loving, quiet and caring person, who never “stick nonsense”.

Coleen said although Kellisha had been living in Barbados for the past five years, they enjoyed a close relationship.

“She would call me everyday when she was on her way to work for 10a.m. and she would call me on evenings between 6:30 and 7:00 before she left,” said Coleen.

“If she had something bothering her, she would not be afraid to share it with me,” said Coleen.

Coleen said Kellisha wanted to travel to St.Vincent and the Grenadines for Carnival, but she had asked her not to, to save money. Instead, Coleen had promised to visit Barbados on September 28 to spend time with her daughter.

“I am sad that things happened that way because she was so close to me,” Coleen lamented.

Kellisha’s father, Kenroy Ollivierre, told SEARCHLIGHT he knows that he will miss his daughter a lot, but he is trying to deal with the situation the best he could.

“I am trying not to study it. I know it won’t be able to come off my mind so easy, but I am trying to cope,” said Kenroy.

Kemmel and Kimisha, Kellisha’s siblings, told SEARCHLIGHT that they are also trying to remain strong.