Choiseul chopping victim Agatha Frank says she has forgiven the man who brutally chopped her and was later shot dead by the police.
Frank’s daughter, Isha Frank Terrance, has also expressed forgiveness for Sylvester Modeste, her stepfather, who had a relationship with her mother for thirty-eight years.
Isha said her intervention saved her mother’s life.
She told St. Lucia Times the family learned from the autopsy on Friday that Modeste was shot multiple times.
Isha said had Modeste been of sound mind, the attack on her mother would not have occurred.
“My stepfather had no criminal history. People are just making up stories,” she asserted.
She acknowledged that the attack on her mother had caused anger.
However, Isha asserted that regardless of what Modeste did to her mother, the police acted unfairly, as they were supposed to serve and protect.
“Where did they protect and serve him?” She declared.
Isha said the family recognised something was wrong with Modeste about mid-2023.
“We took him to a doctor because he couldn’t sleep and he was hallucinating. So the doctor said most likely it was because of lack of sleep. So they gave him sleeping tablets,” she recounted.
Isha said her stepfather, a farmer, improved, but the problem occasionally reoccurred.
“He was really nice to the kids. He was really nice to my mom, but recently about two to three weeks ago, he started acting up again, always crying, saying that somebody is tormenting him and whatnot,” she told St. Lucia Times.
Isha admitted that the relationship between Modeste and her mother had its ups and downs.
Nevertheless, she said it never posed a danger to anyone.
Isha said the family would not rest until they get justice in the case of her stepfather’s fatal shooting.
Police fatally shot Sylvester Modeste, 53, on Thursday, December 28, 2023, days before he turned 54 on December 31, the family said.
Officers at the Choiseul police station had arrested him after a report that he brutally chopped his partner, Agatha Frank.
According to the police, Modeste sustained the fatal gunshot injuries when he attacked them in an escape bid.
Headline photo: (Left to Right) Sylvester Modeste (Deceased), Agatha Frank and Isha Frank Terrance.
My dear daughter you cannot look at this situation one sided. If you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. He chopped your mother, almost snatched away her life, then try to attack the police and you saying he should not be killed. He was an immediate threat to the police so he was shot. We have a role model my dear! Lot kotay!
My girl…you all are igniting this story so much that it will reach world news (cnn bbc al jazera) soon! Why? Because although we understand your grief, you cannot ignore that police officers have family at gome waiting and hoping that they return home safely and alive from work? Your step-dad committed a criminal offense (attempted murder possibly) on your mom and alleged deadly assault on officers. My advice for you all is to stay away from the media and deal with your lawyer privately….pappishow
Truth is, he was wrong for attacking police. Was he in a heightened mental state due to possible triggers and unmanaged mental disorder? Maybe!…In St. Lucia police aren’t necessarily trained to handle possible cases of Manic episodes. There is a great chance that this man was a stand up man who may have suffered some form of mental collapse, but coming from such a backwards community where everything is “obeah”, he never received proper therapy.
Judging by the position of both children, we cannot judge their entire relationship from one or two incidents which may have been due to possible mental illness.
He was nice to your mom, but they had their ups and downs? She herself said that wasn’t the first time police had to be involved in their domestic disputes but she would always tell them to leave him alone. HOW IS THAT BEING NICE TO HER?! I swear some women are delusional!!! I guess the daughter’s boyfriend is “nice” to her too. 🤷🏾♀️
PSA:
Women, stop allowing men to control yall by being yall only source of bread! Get y’all asses up and work! Ask for help in school if you don’t understand something! Don’t accept that you can’t learn, but know how to f*ck so you’ll get a man to take care of you!
This is the reason I am pushing the ministry of education to mandate a legalisation to make sure all kids regardless of nationality once live on this island needs to be in school, needs to understand common sense need to at lease read and write. Please my people go to school and learn. Now having said that, where is the department for vulnerable, the man was I’ll and a doctor give him medication then send him home few months later be returned more deadly. Does these doctors care anything about side effects when administering medication. Of course the family is blowing it out of proportion but also he was the lone bredwinner. They are now feeling the heat, the pressure. The question was why wasn’t he handcuffed due to the nature of crime he was arrested for? They have a voice too, perhaps he probably won’t be out into society time like now had he been alive but the same time his intentions was clear and that was to kill his wife and himself. We have generally a sick population to deal with and no one pay attention to it.
Damn if you do…damn if you don’t. There were already two strikes against him ( poor mental state and attempted murder) making an attack against the police quite plausible. Only those present could determine the immediate threat level and what subsequent responses were necessary. Pending investigations the court of public opinions will do what it does best: blow hot air. DOUBT when the cops woke that day they set an agenda to kill an insane individual they had no beef with. Some things are just unfortunate. May he rest in peace.
Some statements are so ignorant that it’s not funny. So, because the man is supposedly “I’ll” or “sick” let him just kill an officer? Doesn’t the officer have a family? Does he not have a right to live? Does he not have a right to protect himself? And there are some who would come with the ignorant notion that “the police should have shot him in his leg”. For those who have no idea, this is one difficult shot to make especially on a moving target. That’s why ALL professional marksmen (including police) target center mass.
Now, of course, the police should do all to protect the citizenry however, this should NEVER be at his own life. Ever
It seems to me that the family failed to give the deceased the help he needed by not following through with further medical assistance after the lone doctor’s visit. They are ones who knew him best. Were the police formally informed of his possible mental condition ? The police have a job to do, and are protected under the law to use deadly force to protect themselves when their lives are threatened. This is the rule everywhere around the world. It is unfortunate that he suffered the consequences of his erratic behavior but let us hope that this incident serves as a deterrent for others who have scant respect for law and order.
If he was subdue, and shackled properly they were no need to fire any bullets, but the usual sloppy work of the police just seems odd. Any mental health person don’t need to be on the street.
It is quite obvious this man had some mental health issues at the time he attacked his partner. It is quite clear the doctor was not on top of mental illness – sleeping tablets for hallucinations? Really?! There is widespread ignorance about mental health in St Lucia, even amongst the so-called medical “professionals”. It is also obvious that he was experiencing the same psychotic illness at the Police Station. Why did those Police shoot to kill? Surely he could have been restrained! Aren’t Police trained to do so? Not shoot when they “are in fear for their lives” Ha! That is soooo ridiculous. He was not carrying a weapon, and he was just one person. This whole thing stinks! I DO NOT condone domestic or any sort of violence at all, however this man did not deserve to lose his life while he was in Police custody. There needs to be an inquiry. Read the son’s story – the man was not in his right mind and didn’t even know what he had done. And all you so-called Christians who call for death, and in fact revel in it are the devil’s children. Saint Lucia is full of very HATEFUL and Judgmental people who call themselves “Christians” – they actually haven’t got a clue about what that truly means. No Salvation for you bunch of hypocrites, even if there is such a thing. Have some empathy for this grieving family – not only is the woman traumatised by the attack, but she lost her partner of 38 years. And who does not have ‘ups and downs’ especially over such a long time. It is a credit that there was such a long-term commitment on both their parts. Highly unusual on this island, where there are multiple partners and offspring from everyone and anyone it seems. I applaud you my lady for forgiving this man, and your children too for supporting the need for an inquest. All the naysayers in your community are not worth knowing especially those who call themselves Christians. I don’t know whether that is your belief system or not but you and your family are the true Christians here – able to forgive like those all the “Christians” claim to believe in. I pray that you find justice in an unjust system, and eventually find peace in your lives. I don’t believe there is trauma counselling or therapy of that kind in St Lucia, but that would be something beneficial for you and your family. Don’t let those ignorant, lacking in empathy and just plain nasty people get you down. They are only furthering your trauma. There are people who care, even if they don’t know you personally. Those who support you in both your grief and call for justice.
Mental health has long been overlooked in St. Lucia and in fact very often is never addressed. In addition, there are no resources/experts available and additionally because of the demon of pride some folk do not want to seek medical help. Instead, some resort to witch doctors which make the situation worst.
However, it is really an illness and needs to be addressed sooner than later. Not withstanding the fact that those who require meds should have care givers to ensure that they take their medication on time. In some instances, folk can also be over medication or incorrectly medicated which puts them in a zombie like state because of the lack of proper diagnosis/assessment/management. Mental illness is very complexed and requires URGENCY in St. Lucia.
More than 200 classified forms of mental illness currently exist. Some are more common than others such as depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders.
Coupled with the fact that because of the culture of witchcraft and voodoo – folk sometimes state mental illness as this ——‘is something they do him/her” instead of recognizing that it is an illness which requires a proper diagnosis and should be viewed as such —— this is 2024 wake up already St. Lucia.
Well….forgive the police too uh…since you all are in the family are in forgiveness mode.
@Anonymous is completely correct about the mental health situation in St Lucia – it’s a very big issue with very little public understanding and limited resources. @George What if it were your father or brother or son – would you be so happy or forgiving if the police shot them when the person was suffering an episode ie an illness of the mind???Complete inability to understand the family’s trauma. The police are trained (or at least one would hope so) to deal with these situations, but easier for them to draw their guns it appears… The man was not armed and there was more than one policeman. WHY DID THEY SHOOT TO KILL??? Rest my case.
@ Perspective—if my brother or son or father tried to make minced meat of my mother with a cutlass…..thats a sad situation of course, but i would not bring down the police force for his demise! period!
My question is, what if the police officers allowed this man to escape what would the outcome be? And who would be blamed?