Fans and loved ones said goodbye to Aneka “Slickinna” Townsend, also called Kayan, on Thursday afternoon as the popular influencer was laid to rest.
Among those who paid final respects were her thousands of friends and fans, her family, and even those in the dancehall community who knew her personally. Townsend’s body was found last month in the ocean at Reading, St. James, in what police say was a homicide. The woman’s cause of death was asphyxiation, with her autopsy revealing that she was choked with a shoelace.
A man, Rushawn ‘Chizzie’ Patterson, has been charged with murder in relation to her death, while a security guard from a guest house where the woman is speculated to have been killed has been charged with misprision of a felony for failing to report the knowledge that a murder was committed.
Police theorize that Patterson had met up with the woman, and they had gone to a restaurant, and sometime in the night, he committed the act.
On Thursday afternoon, artists Baby Cham and Spice left kind words of farewell and respect to the young woman.
“Rest Well My Friend @slickianna876,” Cham wrote with several dove emojis.
“Gone way too soon,” Spice said.
“Appreciate the ones You love while there is Life for no one knows what’s beyond the grave. Condolences,” Skatta Burrell wrote on Instagram.
The memorial service for the mother of one was held at Webster Memorial Church in St Andrew on Thursday morning. The close coffin service included only close friends and family, with many breaking down as they approached the Barbie-styled coffin with her most beautiful photos plastered on the outside of the box.
Her fans also shared messages of sympathy for her mother, who broke down at the funeral as she spoke to her daughter and asked her, “why did you go” in reference to meeting her alleged killer.
“This really sad. Unspeakable pain in her mother’s cry. Fly High girl… may your soul rest in peace,” one fan wrote.
“The pain this lady is feeling is unnatural! The old shouldn’t bury the young, the young should bury the old, your child that you carried for 9 months, raised and love, see her become a mother and not being able to see her grow past 35 is a bitter pill RIP #Slickiana,” another said.
#LatestNews: The funeral of Aneka 'Slickianna' Townsend is under way at Webster Memorial Church in St Andrew.
Townsend, a social media influencer, was strangled in Montego Bay, St James in late October, and her body dumped in the sea in the Reading area of the parish. pic.twitter.com/McfxaHCYeE
— Jamaica Star (@jamaicastar) December 1, 2022
