Friends and family still reeling over the "brutal'' death of 27-year-old Jermaine Pitcher, last night described him as a loving, generous young man struck down before his life had really begun.

"It is so hard for me to accept this,'' his mother Goldie Pitcher told The Royal Gazette , "I could handle it better if he had struck a wall on his bike and died, but he was brutally murdered.'' His step-father Vincent O'Neal said he hoped the tragedy sounded a warning for people not to bear arms. "We really hope this shows the danger in the use of weapons,'' he said, "it would be best if they would not fight at all but weapons can lead to this.

"Little boys are now so quick to say to you `oh, I'll kill you, I'll kill you,'' he said, "You can't even make a mistake and touch someone in a club.'' Mrs. Pitcher described her son as a very outspoken person admitting that he was a lot like her. "He would stand up to anybody,'' she said.

Mother pours out heartache "He would stand up to anybody,'' she said. "He spoke his mind and was honest about the way he felt. It didn't matter to him who liked him.'' Baby Red, as Mr. Pitcher was fondly known by friends, had just begun a new business of washing cars. His girlfriend Charnette Smith noted that he was very excited about the new venture and had been trying to get a garage to rent at Southside.

"He loved to fix bikes,'' she said, "and he had just fixed up two bikes to sell.

"He was very generous and sensitive and would give you his last dime. He really loved his family especially his mother,'' she added.

Mr. Pitcher's elder brother, Ludlow, had very fond memories of his brother. He told The Royal Gazette that due to his brother's no nonsense attitude, he was quick to jump in to the defence of any family member.

"Don't let anyone mess with his older brother, he would jump in,'' Ludlow Pitcher recalled, "and don't let anyone mess with his mother.'' "He was a thinker and had goals,'' his brother added, " he could just sit up all night thinking about things that had come to him. He was often very wise and could smell a rat real quick.'' Friends present at his home last night recalled that he loved to play soccer, despite a foot injury which made it quite difficult for him to play. And his girlfriend noted that he was intending to train and play more seriously.

"Oh yes, he loved to play a bit of soccer and he was a sports fan and was a deep heart St. David's man,'' he said. "Whether it was soccer or cricket he was there to route St. David's on all the way.'' Friends and family described him as "an originator'' explaining that he was self styled and fashionable.

Tragic: A family snapshot of Jermaine Pitcher, 27, victim of stab wounds. His family described him as a loving, generous man