(JamaicaObserver)IT was an emotional moment on Tuesday evening for relatives of 17-year-old Alecia King as she was flown to the United States for surgery, after she was doused with gas and set ablaze last Thursday, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, in Linstead, St Catherine.
Alecia’s stepmother Julian Mendez, who began to speak in tongues while standing on the tarmac at Norman Manley International Airport, thanked God, the Sanmerna Foundation, and everyone who played a role in flying the teen to Shriners Hospital for Children in Texas.
She was flown in a Trinity Air Ambulance jet.
The 18-year-old’s ex-boyfriend, who allegedly set the teen on fire while she slept in bed early Thursday morning, has been on the run since. The last thing Mendez said before boarding the airbulance with King was that the accused should turn himself in to the police. The ex-boyfriend has failed to report to the police, even after numerous appeals.
“They need to catch him now or he needs to turn in himself,” she said before lamenting the critical state the teen is in.
“I am nervous but I am very grateful,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
Demar King, Alecia’s brother, described the act against his sister as evil, and he too appealed to the accused to turn himself in.
“The family is hit by this hard. She did her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate exams this year and on the day when she was to receive her results she got burned.