Murder of Sarah Lawson

Shai Lawson (May 7, 2003 - June 17, 2014) was an 11-year-old Guianese abused child of Amerasian 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 30 life sentences and 25 years without parole.

Murder
Shai 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 Henderson (b. June 19th 1983) in a state of rage that began over an attempt to call the police on her for past abuse. Jayme, quoted on a Six news report, allegedly called her names like "ungrateful rat".

On the morning of June 17, 2014, Jayme stabbed Shai 20 times with a kitchen knife before slicing her neck open. Her 13-year-old son, Johnny, was unable to help as she crushed the telephone she was using to call 999 with a baseball bat. Jayme was charged with second-degree murder and child endangerment. She was only convicted 5 years later on verdict of first-degree manslaughter and other charges, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Johnny accused Jayme of inflicting the final, fatal blow. The indictment also alleged that Jayme abused the little girl for months and forced her into servitude, being threatened with punishments if she refused.

Discovery of previous abuse
Evidence of abuse inflicted on Shai came to light after Shai's family home was raided by Guianese Investigative Directorate agents on June 18, 2014, the day after her death, and her dead body was found in the cellar of the house with a kitchen knife and a crushed telephone. It was revealed that Jayme had been abusing and torturing Shai for 3 years ever since she adopted her from foster care.

By the time the police were called to the house, Jayme had already left, being last seen in her 2007 Ford Mondeo. The police were unable to catch up with her as she had made it to Paramaribo Steven Callaghan International Airport hours ago.

Funeral
Shai'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 Shai's families present.

Escape
On the night Shai was murdered, Jayme drove to Paramaribo Airport and managed to get through security under a fake identity, disguising herself as a male African-American tourist using a latex mask and using the alias Russell Adenuga, successfully boarding a flight to Georgetown Lee Jeffery International Airport. She used the same trick to board an Emirates flight to Dubai, but with a different identity. Guiair flight attendant Shauna Woods, 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 that Jayme had planned to use the money she collected from her abuse of the foster care system to buy designer bags and watches and, after she had done away with Shai, flee to Dubai to live a luxurious life with her three friends, who were also known child abusers and tried along with Jayme.

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 Shai at the time of her murder. Immediately, he contacted police on her, and was arrested outside Terminal 1 on that same day.

Trial
Jayme was tried at the Paramaribo District Court 5 years after her death, on June 17, 2019.

Details and evidence
Shai 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. Shai 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 were an SPFX "Player" mask and gloves, which she used on both flights. For clothes, she went for Under Armour base layer compression gear, colored black, and a muscle suit for padding underneath. Accessories included in her disguise included a black and shades. A forged Guianese passport was also used.

Shai's stolen iPhone 5 was used as an accessory, pretending to listen to rap songs.

Other testimonies
Forensic photographs revealing Shai'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.

It was revealed by another witness, namely then-YouTuber Daniel Vandenbroucke that Jayme was heard cackling madly as she fled the household in her sedan while Vandenbroucke 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.

Shai's biological mother, Lane, testified that "Shai did not misbehave, she only got mad when her mother mistreated her", proving that Shai barely exhibited undesirable behavior, only doing so when she attempted to fight back. She also explained that one time in 2013, Shai was allegedly forced to fake sick as part of a Kickstarter scam, where the money collected was used to buy Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags.

Alan Robson, a teacher at the school Shai 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 by defending the fallacies.

Lane then admitted that "Shai 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 was 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.