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The mother of eight-year-old Aiden Bartley, who was among those killed in Cherry Tree Lane, Clarendon
By Clinton McGregor/Lorraine Mendez
Two of the main suspects charged in connection with last week's mass killing in Cherry Tree Lane, Clarendon, appeared before the St. Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday.
Leighton White, otherwise called 'Bonz' and Dushane Smalling, otherwise called 'Snowman' are each facing eight counts of murder, shooting with intent and wounding with intent.
They are also charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and unauthorised possession of ammunition.
The men were remanded until Monday when prosecutors are expected to submit statements to their attorneys.
White and Smalling surrendered to the police during a major manhunt for the suspects behind the August 11 shooting of 17 people, including children, at a party in Cherry Tree Lane.
Eight of the victims, including an eight-year-old boy and three women, died of their injuries.
Another suspect in the case, Steve Smith, otherwise called 'Thicka' or 'Fly Brain', was fatally shot during a police/military operation.
Several others have been detained for questioning in the case.
The Police High Command had reported that people living in the United States are also being investigated in the case.
Dreams cut short
In the meantime, the mother of eight-year-old Aiden Bartley, who was among those killed in Cherry Tree Lane, said her son wanted to be a member of the Jamaica Defence Force.
"No soldier cyah pass and him nuh shout dem, anyweh, if a even round di corner him deh and him spot dem. Sometime dem blow him, sometimes dem stop. But soldier was his thing. That was what he wanted to be."
She said she has been struggling to come to terms with the loss of her son.
"When it first happen, mi stay away from home. Nuh want see night come down...knowing seh mi a come back home without him," she lamented.
The mother, who said she is not from Cherry Tree Lane, but had been supporting the birthday event, recounted that she and her son tried to shelter behind a car when the shooting began.
Her other son, a one-year-old, is among the nine people wounded in the mass shooting.
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