By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

EIGHTEEN-year-old Emmanuela Polidor yesterday revealed that her mother left behind a note before taking her life inside a Rasta Camp off Fire Trail Road on October 9.

She said her mother, Ketlyne Ferdinand, 34, gave her a purse with the note inside. “When I saw the note I was really hurt,” she said. “Because ain’t nobody could be mentally prepared for a sudden death like that, especially someone you close with.”

She said she visited her mother the day before she died. “I give her a hug and, you know, I could just see she was down,” she said.

Police found Ms Ferdinand’s body in an outdoor shed. She left behind her daughter and a 12-year-old son.

Rastafarian leader Priest Richmond McKinney told reporters Ferdinand was a long-time member of the community who had been “unstable” in recent years following a trip to Haiti, a claim the woman’s daughter dismissed.

Ms Polidor said her mother was her “best friend,” a cheerful person who liked taking care of people. She said her mother did not suffer from mental illness, though there were days when she seemed sad.

That morning, Ms Polidor said she had planned to visit her mother but noticed her father acting strange while she got ready for work. “I could see something was wrong,” she said. Moments later, a message came through: “my condolences.” When she learned it was her mother, she screamed and broke down crying.

She said she went to her mother’s home soon after. The yellow caution tape around the house made her stomach turn.

Ms Polidor said she will miss spending time with her mother while she fixed her locs. Now working as a beautician like her mother, she said she never imagined she would be planning her funeral at 18, but the experience has shown her the importance of reaching out for emotional support when she feels down.