CONSOLING the mother of 15-year-old Akeem ‘Marlon’ Peart was near impossible last Saturday, as the grieving mother got the last look at her son dressed in pure white and laying peacefully in a white casket at the Ensom City Gospel Chapel, hours before his remains would be interred.
Marlon was stabbed to death while trying to part a fight involving a friend, two weeks before his 16th birthday.
Marlon was the eldest of her three sons and Simone Binns could not come to terms with the loss of her child, who was described by his aunt-in-law as someone who shared a special bond with his mom.
“They were very close,” she said. “And we can understand why, because Marlon was breast-fed until age four. He loved old hits and would dance to them with his mother. He never liked to see his mommy down. He was always smiling and making others laugh,” she said in her remembrance of the youth. “He was fun and loving, jealous of his family members, never a fighter.”
“He was never a fighter but a protector. He sacrificed his life like a true hero,” Reid said.
Parents in the congregation were encouraged by family members, and in particular through a letter written by the teenager’s mother who declared that she had no bitterness towards the person who killed her son to cherish every moment spent with their children, so that if that child is lost, as in Marlon’s case, the precious memories would live on.
Marlon, whose life’s ambition was to become a professional footballer, was described by his coach as a star footballer on the Ensom City under 17 team. He attended the Ensom basic/ primary, and was up to the time of his untimely death, a student at the Old Harbour High school.
The small church on the hill was packed to capacity with mourners inside and out, testament to a life of influence lived by the 15-year-old, in what was described as a ‘dash’ of a life.
Students of the Old Harbour High, some decked in school uniforms, others in cadet gears, cried openly, even as one prefect rendered the song He will do it again.
According to some, Marlon’s passing was not only unbelievable, but more than they could describe, even as they tried to explain how he impacted their lives.
In his sermon, Elder Christopher Clarke said crime was coming closer to everyone and persons were not sure just what to do.
“Crime is coming closer and closer to everyone of us,” he said. “It seem to me that we don’t know what to do. Why should a young man, not even 16 yet, lose his life that way?” he asked.
His remains were laid to rest in the Dovecot Memorial Park in St Catherine.
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