Canje teen in custody for chopping neighbour

May 26, 2009 News

Debbie Simon, mother of the accused

A teen is now a patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital after he was allegedly chopped by his neighbour on Sunday. The chopping allegedly resulted from a sodomy in East Canje.
The accused, 18-year-old Timothy Simon, of 10 Adelphi Village is said to be in custody at the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam.

The victim, Courtney Telford, was examined by a doctor at the New Amsterdam Hospital on Sunday and the examination failed to detect any anal sexual activity.
Timothy Simon’s cousin further down the public road explained that Friday night, everything was quiet so was Saturday. “He (Courtney) wasn’t at home dem days but the minute he come back, trouble start. He start throwing hints to Timothy – saying that Timothy (sodomized) he. They had blood in the house and on the front steps and so after the chopping.”
Debbie Simon, the mother of the accused, said that her son’s friends kept on taunting him and this pushed him over the edge, “Is self-defence! Some of my son friends passing and saying, ‘Timothy bugger Courtney! Timothy is a bugger man! He get annoyed and run in de house and pick up de cutlass and chop Courtney on he head or somewhere around deh.”
Ms Simon recalled that on Sunday her son was on the road when another person called him the degrading name.

“He tell me son that dey ain’t want he on the road no more how he is a ‘bugger man’ and dem ain’t want see he deh bout no more. Me son come inside and tell me how he head hurting, he can’t take it no more and me give he a tablet and tell he how it going to pass over. The whole village molesting me son calling he names. He turn and tell me that Courtney put a stain on he. He say, ‘Mummy me ain’t do he nothing!’
According to Debbie Simon by this time the victim was in the yard doing a victory cheer, “He deh in the yard laughing big and skipping and saying, ‘Everybody know me is a faggot! Everybody know Timothy bugger me!’ He repeat this thing about three times and laughing and mocking me son.”

According to the mother, it was then that the two men confronted each other. “Courtney pick up two cutlass and coming to me son after I tell he how he stain me son. Courtney hit me son in he head with de cutlass and buss he head and me son lash he back with a cutlass. Timothy… me son, run over to the neighbour house and pick up a next cutlass and say, ‘If yuh want chop leh we chop!’ But he didn’t leave the neighbour house.”
The neighbour across the road, Mel Narsingh, said the police collected Timothy Simon from her home, “Timothy is like a child to me. All the time Courtney deh out there performing. He push the li’l child to do it, he keep troubling the li’l boy all the time he molesting the li’l boy!”
The source further indicated that the victim is no stranger to the doctor since he had been involved in previous altercations.

The victim’s sister, Verna Newyear, acknowledged that the two men had a misunderstanding but she was reluctant to say what started the fracas. She, however, said her brother was not a homosexual.
She directed all questions to another sister who was at church a few yards away, but who refused to leave her place of worship to answer any question.
Ms Simon explained that they live in the house that sits in the same yard as the one occupied by the accused.
The problem allegedly started last Friday.
According to the mother of the accused, she had sent her son “to get two coconut fuh me to cook li’l shine rice (a dish made from coconut) so he tek de cutlass and he going over to get the coconut. He wasn’t wearing any shirt and he had de cutlass in he hand when I see de police van come. They tell he jump in de van.”

She claimed she then attempted to explain to the law enforcement officers that her son was heading to pick dried coconuts for the meal and was not off to do any wrong.
The police then arrested her son, “The police tek he to Reliance Police Station on Friday and then release he de same Friday afternoon.”
She said that on Sunday, in the wake of the chopping, when she arrived at the police station, she did not see the victim because he had already left for the New Amsterdam Hospital to be medically examined.
At the Reliance Police Station, she said, she learnt of the allegation. “Courtney mek an alarm that me son hold he and (sodomised) he.”