Joy St Omer’s family has formally asked Saint Lucia’s Governor General to set up an independent Commission of Inquiry to review how different systems and institutions responded to Joy’s repeated requests for help before she died.
Joy, who was 24 years old, was killed in her car on May 20, 2026. Police have charged a suspect with her murder.
At a press conference on Tuesday, August 18, Joy’s mother, Bertillia St Omer, said the family is not interfering with the investigation of the person charged in her daughter’s death. She stressed that the case is still in court.
Instead, the family wants an independent review of the systems that were supposed to protect Joy.
“My daughter Joy asked for help. She asked again and again,” St Omer said.
Her mother said Joy asked for help from several places, including police stations in Marigot, Anse La Raye and Rodney Bay, the ministry for gender relations, the courts and a lawyer when she started divorce proceedings.
Joy also had a protection order. St Omer said police confirmed publicly that the order was still active on the day her daughter died.
She said Joy reported what she believed were violations of the order and tried to get information about bail conditions after an arrest.
“She called, she followed up, nobody told her. Nobody told me. And nobody told the police station in the district where she was living,” St Omer said.
She said Joy went to the police station for the last time on the morning she died. This was just a few days after bail was granted and only hours after she made her final report.
“Joy was killed while the protection order was still in place,” her mother said.
St Omer also referred to a letter Joy wrote 13 days before her death, in which she shared her worries about the justice system and said she felt unsupported, ignored and disrespected.
She said Joy wrote about the need for women in Saint Lucia to feel heard, protected and taken seriously when they ask for help.
St Omer questioned what happened after Joy made her reports and whether the systems meant to protect victims of domestic violence worked as they should.
“My question is not why Joy withdrew. My question is what the state did next,” she said.
The family sent their petition to the Governor General on Monday under the Commissions of Inquiry Act. They also wrote to Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, asking the Cabinet to recommend setting up the commission.
The family plans to circulate a public memorial and invite people to sign in support of the call for an inquiry.
St Omer listed several issues she thinks should be reviewed. These include whether police protocols worked well, if protection orders are properly monitored and enforced, how information about bail and court cases is shared between the courts, police, prosecutors, and victims, and whether agencies have enough resources and trained staff to handle domestic and gender-based violence.
She also wants the commission to examine whether Saint Lucia’s existing laws and enforcement mechanisms are strong enough to protect women from repeated threats and breaches of protection orders.
“An internal review by the same agencies cannot do this,” St Omer said. “Only an independent commission can call witnesses, compel evidence and report publicly.”
The family’s legal representative, attorney Giovanni James, was asked whether they had specific individuals or institutions in mind to sit on the proposed commission.
James said the family was not seeking to dictate who should conduct the inquiry.
“We are not hinting at any specific individual or individuals or institution to carry out this independent Commission of Inquiry,” he said.
He explained that the decision would ultimately rest with the government and the Governor General, should they agree to establish the commission.
James said possible commissioners could include retired judges, retired police officers or individuals from outside Saint Lucia, but stressed that the final determination would be left to the relevant authorities.
For St Omer, the inquiry is about more than just her daughter’s case.
“This is not only about Joy,” she said, pointing to other women and families who, she said, have experienced similar circumstances.
“If the system failed my daughter, they have failed others, and they will fail again unless someone is willing to look,” she said.
St Omer said the family wants truth, accountability, and real change, not revenge.
“To my granddaughter, one day you will be old enough to ask about your mommy. I want to be able to tell you that she did everything right. I want to be able to tell you that our country listened,” she said.
