Monday made exactly 2 months since 2 year old Kaylee Burgess was murdered. Her tiny body was discovered behind her maternal grandmother's house -face down in a bucket of water.
At the time, the child had been left in the care of her 19 year old aunt - who reported to police that the 2 year old went missing from her care while she was watching the evening news.
And even though it was made to seem like little Kaylee accidentally drowned herself in a bucket of water, her postmortem that Kaylee did not drown, instead, someone had suffocated her.
Since then, police have been treating the child's death as a homicide but no one has been charged.
Multiple family members on the mother's side of the family have been detained - but they have all been released. The child's 19 year old aunt and her boyfriend were briefly the main suspects in the case.
At a police press briefing on Monday, Police Press Officer Raphael Martinez commented on the hours of investigation police have put into the case and how nothing tangible has come out of it.
Raphael Martinez - Police Press Officer
"Like yourself, it pains my heart whenever I speak about young Kaylee Burgess because it's in my area, the Ladyville area. And unfortunately, as I mentioned the last time, police have actually poured hundreds of hours into this investigation. They've actually picked up family members, people around, but nothing tangible has actually come out of this investigation so far. But, we know that somebody somewhere knows something. They should come out and say, this is what happened. It's not a closed case, definitely not a closed case."
But for Kaylee Burgess's Mother, losing her child is one thing but not getting justice is another. In an interview conducted with her at her home, she told us she has been running around in circles trying to get justice for the death of her 2 year old child - which seems almost impossible.
Deidra Pratt - Mother
"As a mother, right now, I am really frustrated and angry because there is no justice. The police and everybody have all the evidence in their hands, and they just refuse to do anything. That's what makes me more frustrated than anything else. It's like she wasn't a human being before. It's like everybody has already forgotten about her. It hurts me because people feel like I have already forgotten about my baby. People feel that because there is no evidence and nobody has been charged as yet, that I have already forgotten about her, but no. It's just hard to try to get up every day and move on for my other 2 kids knowing that no justice is being done for my daughter, and knowing that the police aren't doing everything that they can do in their power to charge someone."
Monica Bodden
"Looking at things, do you think you will ever get justice for little Kaylee?"
Deidra Pratt
"I have to smile for that because the way things are going right now, it's like this entire justice system is really corrupt. When people do craziness, they do it for a reason. Me personally, as Kaylee's mother, it hurts me because I know that the police could do more and they refuse just because it's who you know. Every time I go to somebody, it's a dead end because it's who you know. It's hard knowing that no justice is being done, and it's also hard knowing that I don't have my daughter with me because of my family and their feud, and also knowing that their feud is still happening even after my daughter has already passed. My son and my daughter, Kevin and Kaylee, they grew up together. Knowing that Kevin will never see Kaylee, that's really hard for me to get up and move on every day."
Monica Bodden
"Do you wake up and think about her a lot?"
Deidra Pratt
"Every day, every minute of the day my son makes me think about her because they were both raised together. She was a very spontaneous and loving child. Everybody who knows my little baby, knows that she was a darling. And I still talk about her every day, even though it hurts, to let her know that she will never be forgotten."
Monica Bodden
"If you could say one thing to that person who took away your daughter's life, what would that be?"
Deidra Pratt
"That person knows who he or she is. Why don't they just let this matter rest and have a clear conscience in life? Why don't they let God forgive them for what they did, and let me feel at peace to move on for the sake of Carisse and Kevin? If justice is not done, I will never move on with my life knowing that my daughter's death just went casually like that. How can they say that the love my baby, and that she was their niece, and they did her just like that. That means that they have no love in their heart. If she had love in her heart, she would have done the right thing, and said what she is supposed to say."
Monica Bodden
"Are you convinced that it was a family member who took your daughter's life?"
Deidra Pratt
"I am 100% convinced."
The position of the DPP's office is that no one has been charged because the only witness to the killing who has come forward is a child.
But, a murder indictment cannot be based on the account of a minor - because then the child would have to eventually appear on the witness stand.
So, officially, the investigation is ongoing - as the DPP has instructed police to find an adult witness.
Email
Print