Mother of murdered Preysal teacher: ‘She was my hand and foot’

Chrisnoutee Brazlon, the mother of Preysal murder victim Suzette Sylvester, says she feels like her stomach is “turning inside out.” She said Sylvester was her “hand and foot.”

Police said the 48-year-old Preysal Secondary School English and literature teacher had a heated argument with a relative sometime between 10.30 pm and midnight on Sunday at her Mowlah Road Extension home.

She then went to bed at 2.10 am.

But when her son checked on her at 5.56 am on Monday, she was dead, with several visible marks of violence on her body.

A male relative has since been detained. No one had been charged up to press time.

Brazlon's home is in front of Sylvester's/ She said her grandson came into her bedroom and said: “Mom is dead.”

Sylvester was the mother of two – a 23-year-old daughter and a 25-year-old son.

When Brazlon went and saw her daughter, she said she was speechless.

She also said contrary to the “false news going around on social media,” there was no history of domestic abuse between her and the male relative.

Sylvester’s Facebook profile showed January 25 would have been her 27th wedding anniversary.

She previously taught at the El Dorado West Secondary School for 15 years, and alumni paid tribute to her on social media. Some of her past students made comments such as: “She was more than a teacher, she was like a mother to her students,” and “I remembered her to always have a bubbly, cool personality. RIP, Miss Sylvester.

Brazlon told Newsday, “Kind, gentle, generous. You name it. That was her.”

A long-time neighbour, who wished to only be identified as Doris, said she had known Sylvester since she was a baby and was devastated by the news.

“This is the first time anything like this ever happened in this area. She got a sister in Canada and she cannot come – she has two sisters and two brothers…Oh, goodness, it is so sad to see.

“She was a very generous woman, very gentle, nice, loving neighbour – a loving child. For Christmas, she made some things and gave her mother and said, ‘Carry this and give to Doris. If I walking down the road and she is passing, she would offer me a drop.”

Brazlon said her grandchildren are trying to stay strong.

The Education Ministry sent condolences to Sylvester’s family in a press release on Monday afternoon.

It said, “The education community was both shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic circumstances surrounding the passing of Ms Sylvester. The Student Support Services Division and Employee Assistance Programme will engage with the school to provide support to staff and students who may be in need at this time.”

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said “We mourn as a country today. We mourn the loss of a life, of a woman, of an educator; in circumstances that are sad and distressing.

“It is my hope that during this period of grief the support offered can aid her loved ones in the ways they require.”

An autopsy will be done on Sylvester's body at 9.30 am on Wednesday at the Forensic Science Centre.