Relatives of a pregnant mother woman, who was reported killed last month, unsuccessfully begged the person accused of killing her to tell them where her body could be found so that she could be given a proper burial.
Police have charged Joelah Hepburn aka Jolan Hepburn with the murder of 36 year-old Lyda Adams between November 8 and 25 this year. The mother of a nine-year-old boy, and who is reported to have been six months pregnant, was last seen on November 8 when she left her home early in the morning, saying she was going to see a doctor.
CCTV footage showed her disembarking a ferry around 8:56 am (local time) that day in Bequia, where Hepburn, a Byera resident, worked.
Police have brought the murder charge against Hepburn, although they have not recovered a body and when he arrived at the Serious Offences Court under heavy police guard, the relatives shouted for him to say where the body can be found.
‘Please let us know where Sherika is. We need Sherika to bury. Please, let us know where Sherika is,’ one of Adams’ female relatives shouted at Hepburn outside the Serious Offences Court after he exited an unmarked police vehicle.
Adams’ mother, Viola Adams, started to cry, shouting ‘we want Sherita to bury’.
Adams’ later pleaded with a detective to try to find her daughter’s remains, adding that that is the only way she would get closure.
‘Even if it’s her bones,’ the mother said, as the officer said that investigators are trying their best.
Meanwhile, Chief Magistrate Colin John ordered that the matter be recalled on January 12, 2026, for a status update, after Hepburn told the court that his attorney was absent as he was attending another court matter.