Mother of slain Park Hill man dreads upcoming Mother’s Day celebration

While many women around the world are eagerly anticipating the celebration of Mother’s Day this Sunday May 12, 2024, the hearts of some mothers are pained over the loss of their offspring.

One such woman is Petran Barker, who buried her son, Brenton Marvin Barker, one week before the celebration of Mother’s Day.

Marvin was one of two men whose burnt bodies were found in Park Hill on April 8, 2024.

The 32 year old man was buried at the Park Hill Cemetery following a funeral service at the Ebenezer SDA Church at Belle Vue, on Sunday May 5.

As she eulogized her first child, Petran Barker cried “this Mother’s Day would be the hardest for me.”

“Every Mother’s Day, Marvin would bring me gifts and money and tell me ‘mommy, mommy, me love you’.”

The reality that Marvin will not be around to utter these words and spend time with her on Mother’s Day, pains Barker’s heart.

Facing this and other special celebrations, including her birthday and Christmas will be equally difficult for the grieving mother.

“Every August and December, for my birthday and Christmas, I was guaranteed a gift, a pig and groceries. I was loved by Marvin,” the grieving mother declared.

The Park Hill resident added that her deceased son also played a pivotal role in the lives of his siblings.

The mother of five opened her eulogy on Sunday by singing ‘God’s grace and mercy brought me through’.

Remembering the times she shared with her son, Barker admitted “you left footprints on my heart that can never be erased.”

She said Marvin was as an avid cricket lover, a caring, loving son, brother, and father.

As she bade an emotional farewell to the child who made her a mother, Barker said she will miss him very much.

However, she is comforted knowing that “God is a God of justice”.