One of Florton’s injuries.
Fifteen-year-old George Charles Secondary student, Felicity Florton, who was brutally stabbed by a former schoolmate, says she is “confused and angry “and is still trying to forget about the incident which nearly led to her death.
The teenager, who was released from hospital two days ago, told St Lucia News Online (SNO) in an exclusive interview, today (July 7) that she is still confused as to what may have led 18-year-old Stephon Joseph stabbing her multiple times.
Florton, who was reluctant to speak at first, paused for a minute and broke down in tears.
“I can’t explain the way I feel because everything keeps coming back, no matter how much I try to let it go. I don’t know when I will be able to let it go… I am confused because I don’t know what to do now,” she told SNO.
Florton said she is finding it hard to trust people again.
“I am going to stay away from people. I have a lot of anger right now and the best thing to do is to stay away from everyone,” she added.
Florton said she would advise young ladies to “be careful with whom they speak to and don’t go about trusting everyone”.
“People are never who you expect them to be and like they say never judge a book by its cover,” she added.
She told SNO she is looking forward to going back to school in September.
“I want to finish my education, but it’s to hang out with kids from the school, that will be the hard part.”
Meanwhile, the teen girl knew Joseph for one year. However, she told SNO that she ended things with him abruptly because her mother had asked her to stop speaking with him.
Florton said she never spoke to him again but would see him around. She recalled that on the day she was stabbed, Joseph saw her at the Blue Coral Mall and approached her saying that he wants to speak with her.
Florton said she was reluctant at first, but gave in after Joseph was insisting and was not about to give up. When she agreed to speak with him and they started talking, it led to an argument.
“He was trying to take me to his home…when I realised I told him I don’t want to go. I walked away and he keep asking me to come at his home and I keep telling him no,” she stated.
However, the two had already walked a far distance from the mall while talking. Florton said when she realised she was too far, she turned her back and told him she was leaving.
According to her, Joseph grabbed her hand and she pulled away with the intention of going back to the mall, when he pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the back.
“He pushed me and then when I tried to get up, he stabbed me in my back again and he pulled my hair and stabbed me in my face. He kept stabbing me in my back and all over my body,” Florton told SNO.
Asked what happened next, the teen girl said: “I got frustrated and I pushed him and started to run. But it wasn’t long after that I felt weak and fell and started screaming for help.”
Resident later saw Florton and came to her rescue.
Asked whether she feels that Joseph received the full penalty for his action, Florton said no: “He deserved more, they should never release him.”
However, when asked if she is afraid that he may want to harm her again, the teen girl said: “I am not afraid that he is out.”
Further, Florton told SNO: “The stab to my back affects my lungs. I have pain on my back. It’s difficult to sit and rest my back and I have to take hours to sleep because when I try to get up it hurts, and I cannot lie down anyhow.”
Florton’s mother Heather Charles told SNO that her daughter is having terrible nightmares and only last night she woke up hitting her “saying please leave me, don’t hurt me.”
Charles said she was having nightmares about the incident. While she is now able to eat, Florton has been depressed and distant from her relatives. However, her mother has been sending her for counseling.
The teenager’s hospital bill summed up to over EC$3,000.
Meanwhile, Joseph’s parents have given up their land surety to the court in order for him to be released. He currently has to visit the Criminal Investigations Department of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force every day at 7 a.m and 7 p.m.