Trinidad teen kills herself after mother took away phone

Arima Health Facility
Arima Health Facility

(Trinidad Express) A 16-year-old girl from Wallerfield committed suicide by poisoning after her mother took away her cellphone on Saturday.

According to police reports, around 12 p.m. the girl visited her mother’s workplace at WASA Plant, along Block 5, Wallerfield, to collect the keys for the house.

The girl returned home and was in the company of her 13-year-old sister and brother.

The mother told police she arrived home half an hour later and, upon calling out for her elder daughter, there was no response.

The mother then checked her daughter’s bedroom and found the door locked.

The door was eventually forced open and the teenager was found unconscious in the room.

An alarm was raised and ­relatives took the girl to the ­Arima Health Facility, where she was pronounced dead.

Police investigators discovered an orange twist juice container which had a green liquid concealed within it.

During an interview with the police, the mother revealed she had taken away her daughter’s cellphone after relatives discovered she had been posting revealing photographs on social media.

Emotional support is provided through the following services:

  • Lifeline Trinidad and Tobago: 645-2800, life@lifelinett.com, which also serves as the National Student Hotline for the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Gender Affairs.
  • Suicidal persons can call the hotline at 231-2824 on Monday to Friday between 7.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m., 220-3636 from 6pm to 6am;
  • Children’s Authority: 800-2014 or 996, a 24-hour hotline for reports of child abuse;
  • Families in Action: 628-6333, which also manages the National ­Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-7283 (SAVE);
  • Rape Crisis Society of T&T: North Office: 627- 7273 and South ­Office- 657-5355.