Prayer becomes last goodbye - Twin sends prayerful message to sister before brutal killing

At 7:44 that morning, Sonia Labeach Dillon sent her twin sister, Carol Labeach Johnson a prayer.

It was something she does daily -- sharing messages of faith, encouragement and gratitude first thing in the morning. Tuesday was no different. The message she forwarded was inspired by the song Goodness of God by CeCe Winans -- a song about unwavering faith and divine faithfulness through life's trials.

For Johnson, those words now feel both comforting and crushing.

"She sent me that this morning. It's about sisters. It says when you're finished, send it to her and let us pray. This was about 7:44," Johnson said, her voice steady but strained as she stood outside her sister's home on 5th Marlin Way in Braeton, Portmore.

Just over an hour later, around 9 a.m., Dillon, 63, was fatally chopped at the house she had moved into less than a year ago.

Her 41-year-old daughter, Yaquema Sewell, was also attacked and had to be hospitalised. Police say the alleged attacker is a man believed to be of unsound mind from the community.

An old schoolmate who was at the scene played a voice message Dillon had shared in their old school group early in the morning. Her voice, soft, sweet, and full of gratitude.

"Good morning, good morning, family. Oh wow... even in this season a season of trying times, my friends, God has been so good to me, and I am giving thanks," she said in the voice message as both he and Johnson listened quietly.

For Johnson , the morning is frozen in the message her sister sent at 7:44. Scrolling through their chat, she pointed to the prayer and then to her own reply -- one that never reached her sister in time.

"She didn't get my message. By the time I sent her something, my Internet wasn't working. It only went through after 9 when I came outside."

Unaware of the horror unfolding, she had typed: "Good morning. Blessed Tuesday. Have a wonderful and blessed day," followed by red heart emojis.

That message went through at 9:21 a.m.

The prayer remains the last exchange they shared.

Born in Denbigh, Clarendon, Sonia arrived on May 21. Carol followed the next day, making them 'different-day twins.

"Dem didn't know I was there," she said. "Back then it was home delivery. Curl born and Mama done and gone back gone sleep. And then early the next morning she wake up in a terrible baby pain and called back the midwife, who said, 'Maam, you don't see you having another baby?' And that's now me."

From then on, Carol said, she and Curl celebrated their birthdays together on both days.

"I used to call her Curl. She is Curl and me is Carol," Johnson said. "Because they say we are twins, we close."

Now, that closeness feels like an open wound.

Friends and neighbours described Dillon as reserved and pleasant. She worked for nearly 20 years at Sampars Supermarket and was now a supervisor at the Cross Roads, Kingston location.

"Since she moved here not too long ago, you could see that she was a nice person, a very pleasant lady," the neighbour said.

Johnson agreed, still standing at the same spot, her eyes still fixed on the house.

"She was very quiet, keep herself to herself, didn't have many friends. It was just her and her two children. She lost her husband in 2022," she said.