After 19 months, justice has finally been served and the man accused of murdering three-year-old Lee Mentoor will be spending the majority of his time left on earth behind bars, after being sentenced to 45 years in jail on 29 October (Read the article on page 8).
And, even though this is good news, it is a bittersweet moment for the family and friends of little Lee, as they still do not know exactly what transpired on that fateful day, leaving them without closure.
To be honest, I also feel relief that this chapter is now closed, but I feel cheated too. You might be wondering why I feel this way, but the answer is very simple.
As community journalists, we tend to invest a lot of our time in our stories, and, when it is an investigative one, that investment becomes even bigger. I have been following the story of Lee since he went missing. I attended every court appearance and candlelight vigil, and participated when searches were conducted. I have come to know the family and friends, as well as all the others involved, very well, and experienced the same emotions after every postponement, failed search or delaying tactic used by the accused and his counsel.
The same emotions of hope went through me when the accused said he wanted to talk to Kaylah (Lee’s mother) – hope that he would have had a change of heart and would be ready to give the family the closure so desperately needed. The same disappointment was felt when it became evident that he was only playing with their emotions, manipulating the justice system and wasting everybody’s time.
So, yes, I feel cheated, because, just like the family and friends, there is no closure for me either. I will never be able to tell the community exactly what had happened, affording them the opportunity for closure as well. It will always feel to me that there is an incomplete chapter in this story, and I will forever share the family’s hope that one day, we will know the truth.
Until next week …
