On Tuesday morning, a 13-year-old girl and her grandmother, Sita Jagessar, kissed each other and said their goodbyes before the girl headed to school in Penal.
That was the last time the form two student saw Jagessar alive. When she returned to the family’s home at Clarkia Drive, Debe, on Tuesday afternoon, she found Jagessar’s body with a head wound.
The soft-spoken girl, who spoke to Newsday on Thursday in front of close relatives, said the murder had left her sad and shocked.
Jagessar, the grandmother of five and mother of five, would have turned 63 on Sunday.
"We walked out the street together. She bought a newspaper and waited for me to get on the (school) bus. She kissed me, which is a normal thing. I kissed her back, and we said goodbye to each other. She walked back home and I got on the bus," the girl said.
Tuesday was the first day of the full reopening of schools after two years, owing to the covid19 pandemic.
The girl said she and her grandmother had a very close bond.
"I had a good day in school, and I wanted to tell her about it, but..." she said, unable to finish her sentence.
She has been staying at the home of other relatives since the murder.
Jagessar’s son-in-law Rishi Persad said relatives are baffled by the murder, considering Jagessar was a "humble person and never quarrelled with anyone.
[caption id="attachment_950802" align="alignnone" width="380"] Sita Jagessar found chopped to death at her Clarkia drive, Wellington road, Debe home.[/caption]
"This is a nice area and we never expected anything like this to happen here."
He said the granddaughter who found the body "is in shock. The police offered to give her counselling. She was close to her grandmother. They did a lot of things together."
Jagessar’s childhood friend Paramdai Balchand was also at the family’s house when Newsday visited again on Thursday. She recalled that Jagessar worked hard for a better life.
"Many, many years ago, she used to sell coconuts and oysters on the Cross (Cross Crossing in San Fernando). She went abroad to live and work for some time before returning to TT," Balchand said.
The house was not ransacked, and investigators do not have a motive for the murder. No one has been arrested.
Barrackpore and Homicide Bureau Region III police visited and gathered evidence.
An autopsy is set to be done at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.
Homicide Bureau Region III police are leading investigations.
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