Two Years Later, Achazia James’ Mother Asks: ‘When Will Justice Come for Achazia?’

Two years after the death of 15-year-old Achazia James, her mother, Asabi Charles, is again calling for justice, saying the passage of time has done little to ease the pain of losing her daughter without answers.

Charles marked the second anniversary of Achazia’s death with an emotional letter on August 18, reflecting on the life her daughter should be living today and the unanswered questions that continue to weigh heavily on her family.

Addressing Achazia by her affectionate nickname, “KayKay,” Charles described the past two years as a painful journey of learning how to continue living while carrying the grief of losing her child.

“Two years since my life changed forever. Two years since you were taken from me. Two years of waking up every morning knowing that my baby girl isn’t coming home,” she wrote.

“And still… no justice. Still no one held accountable. Still questions that remain unanswered.”

For Charles, the anniversary has also brought thoughts of the milestones her daughter never had the opportunity to experience.

With CSEC examination results being released across the region, she imagined Achazia nervously checking her grades, talking with friends and making decisions about what would come next, whether college, employment or another path.

“You should’ve been preparing for that new chapter of your life right now,” Charles wrote. “Figuring things out, making plans, changing your mind a hundred times if you wanted to, and discovering who Achazia was becoming.”

“You deserved that!”

Charles said that while she has learned to work, smile, care for her other children and celebrate the lives of others, the grief remains beneath the surface.

“People see the smile. They don’t always see what sits behind it,” she said.

Her letter also revealed a deeply personal decision: she has forgiven whoever was responsible for taking her daughter’s life.

But Charles made it clear that forgiveness should not be confused with forgetting what happened or giving up her demand for accountability.

“It simply means I refuse to allow whoever took your life to take the rest of mine too,” she wrote.

Her Christian faith, she said, has helped sustain her through the past two years, particularly as the family continues waiting for the answers it desperately wants.

“I serve a true and living God, and one thing these past two years have taught me is that God does not sleep. What man doesn’t see, God sees. What is done in darkness, God knows,” Charles wrote.

Still, her faith has not diminished her call for those responsible for Achazia’s death to be held accountable.

“You were fifteen years old. You were somebody’s daughter. Somebody’s sister. Somebody’s best friend,” she wrote. “You had dreams. You had plans. You had an entire life ahead of you.”

Charles also appealed for her daughter to be remembered for more than the circumstances surrounding her death.

She remembered Achazia as a teenager who loved sports and her friends, had a big heart and dreams for her future, a young girl who, in her mother’s words, deserved the opportunity to grow into a woman.

Two years on, Charles says she has no intention of allowing her daughter’s name or her family’s demand for justice to fade.

“Two years later, Mommy is still here. Still standing. Still praying. Still saying your name. Still loving you. Still fighting for you,” she wrote.

“And until my last breath, that will never change.”

Her letter ended with the words that have become a reflection of her continued hope that the truth will eventually come to light.

“Sleep in peace, my baby girl. Mommy loves you beyond this life,” Charles wrote.

“And until the truth is known and justice is served… God and Time.”