Residents of a Jamaican suburb called Spanish Town are reeling after the brutal rape and murder of nine-year-old Kelsey Cassidy Ferrigon.
Young Kelsey’s lifeless body was found stuffed upside down in a barrel at her home in St. Catherine last Friday.
Reports indicate that her 16-year-old brother made the grisly discovery, sparking immediate outrage and grief in the community.
Kelsey had been missing for some time before her partially naked body was found. Authorities have since launched a manhunt for 39-year-old Giovanni “Coolie Man” Ellis, identified as a person of interest in the case.
Trauma Support for Family
The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) has intervened, providing urgent counselling and trauma response for Kelsey’s mother and her three siblings—aged 16, 6, and 3—who are now left to grapple with the unimaginable loss.
CPFSA CEO Laurette Adams-Thomas condemned the crime, calling it a “chilling disregard for the sanctity of childhood.”
She said the tragedy is especially jarring as it occurred during Child Month in Jamaica, which carries the theme: “Stand Up, Speak Out: Stop Child Abuse and Exploitation.”
The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s High Command has strongly denounced the crime, vowing to pursue justice. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice’s Victim Services Division will begin counselling sessions for the family this week.
A Call for Justice and Protection
As the community mourns, advocates are demanding swifter protections for vulnerable children and harsher penalties for child predators. Kelsey’s death has reignited urgent conversations about child safety and systemic failures in preventing such atrocities.
Updates on the manhunt for Giovanni Ellis are expected soon.
