A heartbroken teenager last night told how he tried in vain to save murder victim Kellon Hill as he lay dying from stab wounds after a violent gang crashed an Elbow Beach party.

The friend and cousin of Mr. Hill — who asked to be referred to by his first name, Javon — watched the victim collapse seconds after allegedly being stabbed three times in the stomach area with a screwdriver.

Javon, 18, said by the time he reached Mr. Hill he was lying in a puddle of blood and his white T-shirt had turned almost completely red.

He administered CPR and tried mouth to mouth resuscitation but Mr. Hill's injuries were so serious he was unable to stop him fading away. Mr. Hill was taken to hospital but within an hour Javon was told he had been pronounced dead.

Javon, who like Mr. Hill was an invited guest at the Saturday night dance thrown by a 15-year-old girl, also provided fresh details about how the 18-year-old was murdered by a gang of party crashers who stole his chain.

He said Mr. Hill and a couple of friends had arrived for the dance at around 11 p.m. with the intention of meeting up with his other pals already in attendance.

But one group of about ten unwelcome troublemakers — whom Javon believes had taken drugs — arrived and set upon Mr. Hill before he left his motorcycle.

It is believed they snatched his chain from around his neck and punched him. Mr. Hill removed his helmet and tried to grab the jewellery back, but gang members hit him on the head with a cane and battered him with his helmet, said Javon.

Javon said he understands one person attacked the victim with a flathead screwdriver, and that blood was subsequently pouring from three stab wounds in the stomach area.

Javon told The Royal Gazette people started running up from the beach when it emerged trouble had broken out at about 11.20 p.m.

"Everyone was running. I was running too," said Javon. "Then I saw someone standing up, holding himself and then he dropped and someone said: 'Don't hit him, don't hit him.'

"Then I said 'Oh look, it's Kellon — he's bleeding! Oh look, he's got stabbed, he's got stabbed.' I was like: 'What?'

"Everyone was crowding around this guy. It looked really bad, blood was everywhere. His girl was trying to stop the bleeding.

"I went down to feel his pulse. I held his hand up, I'm feeling his pulse. At first I didn't feel it, I said: 'Don't tell me he's dead, everyone be quiet.' People were screaming and vomiting from the scene of it all.

"Once everyone had gone quiet I checked his pulse again but it was really, really slow and faint."

Javon said he began to grow more anxious while waiting for the ambulance as Mr. Hill's condition deteriorated.

"I went back and checked his pulse and he didn't have a pulse. He ain't breathing, he hasn't got a pulse. I started giving him CPR: 'Come on Kellon! Come on Kellon!'

"I tried to give him mouth to mouth. I just kept pumping his heart. At this time the Police came. The ambulance still hasn't come.

"The Police assisted him. They said he had a pulse and he is breathing. Unfortunately, he ended up dying right there in his girl's arms, passing right there. They couldn't pronounce him dead until he arrived at the hospital.

"I was trying to save him but there was only so much I could do. I found out an hour later he had died. It hurts trying to save somebody and they don't pull through.

"It was a gruesome way to die. Every time I think about it, tears just come. This guy had ambitions, man. He was supposed to leave this week (for college in the US). Getting away from the Island. Getting away from this crap.

"He was so close to starting a life over in America away from this narrow-minded type community. Only a narrow-minded person would want to snatch a chain. They only care about themselves. It angers me."

Describing the party, Javon said: "At first everyone was cool with everyone. I was there to say goodbye to my ace girl. It was a gang that came and crashed the whole party from the White Hill area.

"Kellon had waited until the rain was over before coming over in his bike. He was about to go down to his boys. He never made it to them. One (of Mr. Hill's friends) tried to run and get help but it was too late. They had already devastated him. They had already mangled him.

"What hurts me the most is I tried to help but there's nothing I could do. I was like: 'Nobody's dying on my watch.' I was there. I basically watched him slip away from this world. It hurts, really hurts. He didn't have to die. It wasn't worth him dying over a chain. That's a material thing.

"I just wish it never happened. It's scarred me for life. It's a really sick world. I notice it more and more every day. This world is sick and corrupt. That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes."

Seven people are in custody following the murder, including six men who were arrested in the White Hill area hours after the incident and a teenage girl. Nobody had been charged by press time last night and Police have not yet said what weapon was used against Kellon, or how many times he was stabbed

Officers have made a number of appeals for the 75 or so young people who were in the area to come forward. Javon has already spoken to the Police.

Yesterday, Premier Ewart Brown released a statement after offering his personal condolences to Mr. Hill's parents Daniel and Gail Hill.

The Premier said: "I wanted Daniel and Gail to know that they are not grieving alone. They have my support, the support of the Government and the support of their neighbours.

"Of course mere words are not enough to express the shock and grief that so many of us feel about this tragic loss of young life. It is painful to think this family is grappling with funeral arrangements when they should be planning their son's freshman year in college.

"Kellon, his family and his friends are in all of our thoughts and prayers."

Witnesses should call 299-4315 or the anonymous CrimeStoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.