I’ve honestly been extremely sensitive about dead kids ever since Andrew McClain’s death back in 1998, and it still upsets me beyond words to learn about a child’s death. Andrew’s death was entirely–I said entirely–accidental, but Javon Thompson’s death was not. Not an accident. No way. No how.
Anyway, Javon was a cute-as-the-dickens baby whose mother had joined the 1 Mind Ministries (read cult) run by a woman who called herself “Queen Antoinette”. Shortly after baby Javon and his mother, Ria Ramkissoon, moved in with the group. Queen Antoinette declared that Javon should say “Amen” after grace like the older, school-aged children did.
Fifteen-month-old Javon refused to-could not-would not-who-knows-why-he-did not-he-was-a-baby-for-god’s-sake say “Amen” and the Queen decided to punish Javon by withholding food and water until the next meal, at which time he was given another chance to say it.
He didn’t say it then either, and again food and water were withheld. And again. And again.
His skin color darkened, his eyes grew darker, he became dehydrated, and he starved. He died.
But, wait! It doesn’t end there. Cult members packed Baby Javon’s body in a green suitcase and poured Lysol over his body and put some scented fabric softener sheets in for good measure. To keep the smell down, y’know. Then the cult made several moves, carrying the green suitcase with them with Javon’s rotting body until they finally got kicked out of where they were living (except that Javon was dead) with a man in Philadelphia.
The man apparently liked them enough, though, so he told them they could leave some of their stuff in his shed. The suitcase remained there for a year.
Rather than my starting to sound like CSI, there are links here and here with more specific details on the case. Let it suffice to say here that homicide detectives finally found Queen’s green suitcase with Javon’s long-dead body inside.
I can just about imagine Ria Ramkissoon’s attorneys posturing about how she was brainwashed and is not/was not/never was responsible for the death of her son. About how she didn’t know he was dying. How she should be given another chance.
Crap! She killed Javon, and she has been properly charged with first-degree murder. She should be punished for taking her child’s life, as should all the other members of the cult who were complicit in Javon’s death. They were all old enough to know better.
