27-year-old Sanju Maharaj, a Trinidadian teacher living in Jamaica is facing a murder charge after the remains of his former 13-year-old student, Shanoya Wray was found soaking in a bathroom tub filled with caustic acid.
19-year-old Lenardo Madden, a former student at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus is also being charged as an accomplice to the murder, reports Caribbean 360.
Wray ran away from home on the night of July 15. Her body was found in St. Andrews on July 20.
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Maharaj and Madden are in custody and are due in court on September 10. Maharaj had allegedly engaged in a sexual affair with Wray – an illegal act – and appeared in court last year in regards to that case.
He faces a life sentence if found guilty.
Jamaica is already battling with high teenage pregnancy which is affecting the education of girls. The island recently introduced a new initiative aimed at saving teenage girls from dropping out of school.
The project, named A-STREAM – Advancing Secondary, Tertiary, Remedial Education for Adolescent Mothers is set to be overseen by the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation. The goal is to assist teenage mothers who are at risk of dropping out of school.
