By ALEXANDER BRUZUAL Friday, June 22 2012

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Final rites: Fr Dexter Brereton incenses the caskets with pictures on each of Gwendolyn Kim Griffith, left, and her sister Salisha Sue Griffith, at Ho...

With a ceremonial bike show, and tears, friends and relatives of Gwendolyn Kim Griffith, 35, and Salisha Sue Griffith, 28, bid an emotional farewell yesterday to the two sisters who were slain at their home on Monday morning.

At the funeral service, which was held at the Holy Trinity RC Church in Arouca, Marvin Bruce Griffith, the sisters’ brother, was unable to perform the eulogy as he choked up with sorrow every time he tried to speak to the congregation.

However, through the assistance of a friend, Griffith did deliver his message of appreciation for the support his family had received during their time of need, and he was able to thank everyone for attending the service.

Griffith managed to say he will remember Gwendolyn as a determined person who could not be stopped from achieving any goal.

He also recalled his last moments with Salisha which involved her telling him about the dreams she had, and how she wished to accomplish them, and he told her she could achieve all of them if she stuck to them. During the gospel acclamation, Fr Dexter Brereton, asked the congregation never to forget the joy the two sisters brought to them, but also not to hold hate for the persons who were responsible for taking away their lives.

“It is inexplicably hard to know that this tragedy was done at the hands of men in our nation.

“No one who understands life or has the proper respect for it could have done this, and we are all reduced to silence whenever we think on it. To know that in this country, today, our streets are soaked with the blood of the innocent, and that violence is running rampant, how do we respond to that?

“It is simple, we must remember to retain our humanity. I say this to you — love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. You must love and forgive your enemies, though this does not mean forget. By all means, to those who can go to court and give the necessary evidence to see that justice is done, do so,” Brereton said.

Following the service, there was a short bike show by Anthony Cox, aka “Mad Max”, who paid special tribute to Gwendolyn, whom he said loved biking more than anything.

“This right here, what we are doing, is what Kim loved. She loved biking with all her heart. She was always with us whenever we rode no matter where. And it hurts us to know that she is gone. So all we did and will do will be dedicated to her,” Cox said.

The two sisters were then taken to the nearby cemetery and buried on top each other. Cox, in a gesture of his final goodbye, even placed one of his motorbike helmets into the grave.

On Monday at about 2 am, two men broke into the Pascal Lane, Carapo home of the sisters. The women were tied up, raped and then chopped, stabbed and their throats slashed. As the sisters lay bleeding inside the wooden house, their killers doused the structure with gasolene and set it on fire. The charred remains were later found by firemen and police officers after the fire was extinguished.