On Tuesday, the day after a 24-year-old man faced a magistrate charged with the murder of his girlfriend Shadie Dassrath, friends and family bade her a final farewell.
Dassrath, 31, was buried at the La Romaine public after a funeral at JE Guide Funeral Home and Crematorium Ltd in San Fernando.
Her sister Crystal recalled that growing up, they did many things together.
Crystal told mourners that despite obstacles, Dassrath got an education. After Dassrath graduated from secondary school, she took her books to burn them.
"My grandmother told her to keep them. Shadie laughed and said, ‘Mammy, everything in those books I have in my head.’
"My sister was a free-spirited person. She lived, laughed, loved and was hardworking. From toddlers to adults, we had our moments, but we loved each other."
On Monday, Quamise Vance faced a San Fernando magistrate on the murder charge. The magistrate remanded him into custody and ordered that he reappears in court on January 10.
On December 3, hours after they argued, he found Dassrath's body in their apartment at Temple Street, La Romaine.
An autopsy found she died from blunt force trauma.
Supt Dhillpaul, Insp Maharaj and Sgt Elvin led the investigations, and PC Lall of the Homicide Bureau Region III laid the charge.
At the funeral on Tuesday, the officiating pastor called on mourners to give God praise and thanks. He also called on God to comfort the hearts of the grieving family, saying he was sorry about the circumstances of Dassrath’s departure.
The pastor said despite great inventions like MRI and ultrasound, no one can show a picture of the soul.
"The soul belongs to God. Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body. Be afraid of the one who can destroy the body and soul. Someone has paid the price for her soul. His name is Jesus. No one has power over the spirt," he said.
The media were not allowed at the funeral, but it was live-streamed on social media.
A mourner remembered Dassrath as an intelligent woman who loved to look nice.
The mourner added, "No one knows what happened on that fateful day. Shadie, you are a decent, intelligent young woman, and I am glad that I got to know you. I pray that God would make you one of his angels."
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