(CMR) A 15-year-old girl was found unresponsive at an end of school party last night after she apparently overdosed on alcohol at the guest house of a local real estate mogul at their multi-million dollar Yacht Club home off West Bay Road.
The year 10 Cayman International School (CIS) student, who is said to now be recovering, was allegedly seen passed out on the floor for several hours before anyone noticed that she was in dire need of medical attention.
The incident occurred shortly before 10:00 pm but the party was originally slated to go up until 11:00 pm.
Sources indicate that the daughter of the homeowner hosted the party for about 70-80 other school children and it had been planned for quite some time. However, alcohol appeared to be free-flowing and the teenagers were left to their own demise as the parents were feet away in the main house. At some point, the young lady laid unresponsive on the floor for two hours without anyone noticing; before an ambulance was summoned.
We understand that her mother rode with her in the ambulance to the hospital. Whilst being treated in the emergency room late last night her mother instructed hospital nursing staff to not allow any of her fellow classmates access to visit her – as many had begun gathering at the hospital.
Cayman Marl Road has received numerous tips from both party-goers and concerned parents about the incident and there appears to be a general complacency by school officials, parents and local authorities because of who the parents are. One person commented:
“If this happened anywhere else the parents would be in shackles and taken off to jail. It is high time Cayman has this discussion of privilege and power and how it's costing their children”.
Police attended the scene and were interviewing other parents and students at the party to ascertain precisely what happened. CMR is aware that the Department of Children and Family Services was contacted and is making further inquiries into the matter.
However, it is alleged that before the police arrived a cover-up was already afoot. Apparently, She was not the only underage person suffering from severe alcohol intoxication. Another young man was said to be vomiting “all over the place” as well. However, he made a quick disappearance before the police arrived on the scene.
Now many people are asking questions about this particular event and the general atmosphere of no parental controls for Cayman's rich and affluent children. Turning a blind eye appears to be their favorite pastime when it comes to their over-privileged children. One parent shared that he was very concerned about his children since moving to the Cayman Islands and was considering overseas boarding school options. He shared:
“Having money and influence on this island has created a shocking culture in Cayman's private schools – similar to Lord of the Flies. Parents are well connected, have lots of money and as a result can buy their children out of most situations. There's a huge degree of complacency and it's well known that parent's are supplying children alcohol at these functions. There are no consequences for these children at all.”
Indeed CMR has done some preliminary research and it appears that children whose parents are well connected to the police and judiciary often face no consequences for bad behavior.
Just several weeks ago we received a tip about children that were arrested for drug possession at their local private school. Now, the seniors at that school are all being subjected to drug testing. Not a word of this was mentioned in any local police reports.
However, as is usually the case with money and privilege there is now a culture of silence around the entire situation. Many of the children have already taken to their private snap chat groups in an attempt to have one consistent story displacing blame on how the alcohol was obtained. It is being alleged that they have decided to stick to a very tight script about what transpired – having little or no regard for the fact that their classmates almost died.
One parent remarked: “These young people need to be held accountable for letting their friend stay on the floor and almost dying. The parents need to be held accountable for giving underage kids alcohol and the schools need to be held accountable for often being complacent when they hear of these situations.”
Many are arguing that less privileged and often times local children would be facing several consequences including reputational damage and loss of opportunities – including school suspensions and possible criminal charges.
The question remains now if the law will be holding anyone accountable.
TUNE INTO THIS WEEK'S THE COLD HARD TRUTH AS WE HAVE THIS DISCUSSION!
UPDATE:
Several days after the publication of this story and an editorial submitted by another parent familiar with the Williams2 family; a family member of CMR was terminated from his job.
We have received confirmation from the employer's lawyers that the Williams2 owners; notably Cathy Williams “gave the employer an ultimatum” that if they did not fire this individual there would be financial consequences for the company. The company fired him and he is now unable to provide for his Caymanian family which includes young children.
This blatant form of retaliation is shocking and demonstrates the importance of highlighting such issues in our community. If their actions don't speak to the very privilege the original article spoke of then what does?
They operate in a world where money gets them anything they want and they believe they operate with complete impunity.
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