Andrew J. Goudsward

Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

KEANSBURG, N.J. — The father and half-sister of a slain 11-year-old were denied entry Friday into the United States, three days before the girl's funeral.

After making a tearful plea Thursday to President Donald Trump to intervene, the two traveled more than an hour from their home in Port Maria, Jamaica, to the U.S. Embassy in the capitol Kingston early Friday morning in hopes of getting cleared to enter the United States.

"My dear little AbbieGail was taken away, and I need to pay my last respects to her," said Kenroy Smith, the father of AbbieGail "Abbie" Smith. "That's all I'm asking."

Abbie's body was found July 13 wrapped in a blanket on the roof of her apartment building in Keansburg, N.J., about 20 miles southwest of New York City, hours after she was reported missing.

Kenroy Smith tearfully asked Trump to intervene in a video exclusive to the Asbury Park (N.J.) Press after AbbieGail's older sister, Kenish Smith, had her visa application denied. He said his request for a temporary visa was denied because he had been deported from the United States 16 years ago after a marijuana arrest.

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The Smiths said they were desperate to come pay their final respects to AbbieGail and see where she had been fatally stabbed last week. They feared they would miss their only chance to say goodbye.

Kenroy Smith said he showed an embassy official a photo of AbbieGail that had been circulating in the news media and explained the circumstances of her death, but the official said he could do nothing.

"I don’t care if I’m escorted for the two days and I’ll come back to Jamaica. I just want to see my child for the last time," he said in a phone interview Friday.

Kenish Smith, 28, AbbieGail's older half-sister, sought answers after her application was denied Wednesday. Embassy officials told her she didn't have sufficient ties to Jamaica and was a threat to overstay her visa.

“I tried to question what did they mean? I did have ties. I have my three children, my job and my school," said Kenish Smith, who is a cosmetologist. "I would never want to run away and leave my three children in Jamaica. I just want to be there for my sister."

Kenish Smith said she showed officials AbbieGail's death certificate and a letter from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, but she was still turned down for a visa.

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Without immediate intervention, the two said they would not make it to the United States in time to see AbbieGail laid to rest Monday. The embassy is closed Saturdays.

A State Department official said visa applications are judged on a case-by-case basis and the department doesn't comment on individual cases.

Kenish said she wept after hearing the decision.

"AbbieGail Smith needs her sister there at the moment," she said. "Who's going to stand up for us? We have no control. We can't do it on our own."

A stab wound to the neck killed the preteen.

The girl's upstairs neighbor, Andreas Erazo, has been charged with her murder. He is in Monmouth County Jail awaiting a bail hearing.

Latisha Smith, one of AbbieGail's sisters who lives in Maryland, said she has been up early every day this week writing emails to elected officials and going to local immigration offices in a frantic last-ditch effort to help her father and sister get visas.

"Every minute it's like I'm hitting a roadblock, but I'm just not going to stop," she said. "I'm not stopping until they're here."

AbbieGail moved to the United States with members of her family in 2007. Her survivors include five brothers and three sisters, according to her obituary.

After the decision was handed down, the father and half-sister said they lingered in their car across the street from the embassy hoping someone would step in to help.

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"We're sitting across from the embassy like we're lost," Kenroy Smith said.

Again, Kenroy Smith frantically appealed to Trump to step in.

"Mr. Trump, she is my daughter. Put yourself in my position and see what would be suitable to you as a father who nourishes and cares for your child," he said.

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Latisha Smith said AbbieGail frequently visited her father in Jamaica and that Kenroy had developed a special bond with his youngest daughter.

"We're a family. We all need to be together for AbbieGail," she said. "The government — I just hope they hear my cry."

Follow Andrew Goudsward on Twitter: @agoudsward