Murder of Sarah Lawson

Sarah Cojuangco Lawson (May 7, 2003 - June 17, 2014) was an 11-year-old Guianese abused child of Blasian descent from Paramaribo, Surinam. Her death was notorious for not being fully solved until May 2019. The trial did not happen until the 5-year anniversary of the murder, on June 17th 2019, whereas she was sentenced to 2 life sentences and 25 years without parole.

Murder
Sarah had endured torture, and was discovered to have been kidnapped, stabbed 20 times and had her neck sliced, effectively killed by her foster mother, Jayme Gutierrez (b. June 19th 1974) in a state of rage that began over her anger towards her foster mother's mistreatment of her that she claimed was product of her imagination. Jayme, quoted on a Six news report, allegedly called her names like "ungrateful rat" and "careless".

On the morning of June 17, 2014, Jayme stabbed Sarah 20 times with a kitchen knife before slicing her neck open, while Alan Wellesley, a friend of hers who posed as a police officer, held her face down. Jayme's 13-year-old son, Johnny, was unable to help as she doused Sarah in hot water. Jayme was charged with second-degree murder and child endangerment and Alan with false imprisonment and impersonation of law enforcement as well as conspiracy.

They were only convicted 5 years later on verdict of first-degree manslaughter and other charges, and were sentenced to 20 years in prison. Johnny accused Jayme of inflicting the final, fatal blow. The indictment also alleged that Jayme hired Alan to impersonate a police officer and made him hold down Sarah, before attacking her foster mother and leaving her for dead to ensure Jayme would fully get away with her crimes.

Discovery of previous abuse
Evidence of abuse inflicted on Sarah came to light after a spa in Georgetown was raided by Guianese Investigation Directorate agents on June 29, 2014, 11 days after her death, and the spa owner, a known human trafficking boss, admitted to having attempted to buy her from the black market. It was revealed that Jayme had been abusing and torturing Sarah for 3 years ever since she adopted her from foster care, and one time even had her sold on the black market for 2.5 million GY$ so she could be put into child labor under the guise of punishment, but actually wanted the money.

The money that she received in return, as well as from selling her organs and her misuse of the foster care system (which was 5 million GY$ in total) was later spent on various luxury and designer items, including Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags, as well as exotic luxury items. Jayme was also revealed to be an avid supporter of far-right politician Daniel O'Brien, and even managed to sell Sarah's personal belongings at an auction to his supporters for 100,000 GY$ each after her murder, with O'Brien himself receiving Sarah's laptop, the highest-priced item, at 5 million GY$.

Funeral
Sarah's funeral was held at St. Silvester's Church in Georgetown on July 1st 2014. According to a 7TV news report, there was considerable anger during the burial with both Jayme and Sarah's families present.

Escape
On the day Sarah was murdered, Jayme drove to Paramaribo Airport and managed to get through security under a fake identity, disguising herself as a male tourist using a latex mask and using the alias Russell Lynch, successfully boarding a flight to Georgetown Cornelis Sommelsdijk International Airport. She used the same trick to board an Emirates flight to Dubai. Guiair flight attendant Lynda Caldecott, who testified at the murder trial, explained that "the fact that "Russell" had glasses and a cap on made me suspicious whether he was just a mask or not".

The revelation was made by an official police report that Jayme had planned to use the combined money she collected from her abuse of the foster care system, her sale of Sarah to the black market, and her sale of Sarah's personal belongings to far-right politicians and authoritarian leaders, to buy various designer bags and other expensive items from Gucci, Hermes and Louis Vuitton, as well as expensive liquors.

After she had done away with her daughter, she would flee to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to live a luxurious life with her three friends, who were also known child abusers, one of which was Jayme's lawyer and another of which was Alan, whom she used as a fake police officer to restrain Sarah from escaping as she was murdering her, and after that, attack the birth mother brutally and leave her for dead.

Capture
In the afternoon hours of April 7, 2019, Jayme was preparing to return to Georgetown under the pretext of an "exotic trip home". When she boarded a Guiair flight to Georgetown, she was immediately recognized by an onlooker who was a friend of Sarah at the time of her murder. Immediately, he contacted police on her, and was arrested outside Terminal 1 on that same day.

Trial
Jayme and her friends were collectively tried at the Paramaribo District Court 5 years after Sarah's murder, on June 17, 2019.

Details and evidence
An eyewitness report stated that Sarah was reportedly confined to the cellar of her house with various items, as well as a bag of dog food she was apparently forced to eat. Sarah was also alleged to have been made to eat off the floor for attempting to fight back.

The trial the next day focused on the items that were used to pass herself off through airport security when she was traveling to Paramaribo to Georgetown and then Dubai. The chief objects shown at the trial, among the other items, were a CFX "Mac the Guy" mask, wig and gloves, which she used on both flights. For clothes, she went for a red sweater, blue jeans, and a muscle suit for padding underneath. Accessories included in her disguise were a blue baseball cap and shades. A forged Guianese passport was also used in the disguise.

Sarah's stolen iPhone 5 and earphones were used as an accessory, pretending to listen to 80's rock songs during the flight.

Other testimonies
Forensic photographs revealing Sarah's horrific injuries were shown on June 20. The pictures were taken in 2015 by Elena Salvador, a forensic pathologist who testified at the trial. She stated that Sarah had often showed up to school with multiple burn injuries to her arms and back, black eyes, and at one point, a chipped tooth.

It was revealed by another witness, namely then-YouTuber Daniel Brook that he heard Jayme cackling madly as she fled the household in her sedan while Brook was being driven by his parents to go planespotting at Georgetown Airport. Both vehicles stopped over at a Petroguiana gas station. Jayme admitted she was actually stopping so she can put her disguise on before escaping back into her car.

Sarah's biological father, Shaun, testified that "Sarah did not misbehave, she only got mad when her mother mistreated her", proving that Sarah barely exhibited undesirable behavior, only doing so when she attempted to fight back. He also explained that one time in 2012, Sarah was allegedly forced to fake sick as part of a crowdfunding scam, where the money collected was used to buy Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags.

Eddie Balakrishnan, a teacher at the school Sarah last studied in, then alleged that Jayme "forced him to drop her out" under the pretext of undesirable behavior and poor performance. Jayme's attorney, one of her friends, countered her statements through gaslighting, attempting to de-unfound the fallacies.

Sarah's aunt Lane then admitted that "Sarah was always a loving daughter, but her mom thought otherwise", and that her mother was only using her for the money she would later spend on alcohol and multiple other luxuries after fleeing to Dubai.

Verdict
On June 26th, Jayme her friends were convicted on all counts, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with 25 years without parole. Jayme as she was being led out of court gave out a look of hatred and rage as she was being escorted into the police car. As she was being led out, she angrily ranted about her daughter's supposed disobedience before being taken away.