MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER OF BRITISH COUPLEBy CECILY ASSON and Marissa Williams Saturday, August 8 2009
Police investigators have made a breakthrough not only in the case of the brutal chopping of a British couple in Tobago last Saturday, but also the murder of a German woman who was stabbed to death, also in Tobago, last February.
A 25-year-old man of Argyle, in east Tobago, has reportedly confessed to the chopping attack on British retiree Peter Greene, 65, and his wife Murium, 59, in Bacolet a week ago, and the murder of German Claudia Maria Feldmeier in Bon Accord on February 19.
Investigators claim the suspect confessed to the crimes during interrogation at the Scarborough Police Station on Thursday night.
Last evening, the Police Service issued a statement that the suspect has been charged with the attempted murder of Peter and Murium Greene and will appear before a magistrate on Monday. There was no information on if he had been charged with the murder of Feldmeier
Sources said the man told them that he used a large knife, not a cutlass, to chop the Greenes and threw the weapon behind a huge rock. He is reported to have asked the police, “Will they hang me for that?” as he gave them details about the attack on the Greenes.
The Greenes were asleep on the patio of their vacation home when they were chopped several times about their faces.
The suspect, who police said was a known thief in his village, claimed a relative took him to the couple’s home for him to steal. He is reported to have even told the police what he wore that day– a blue vest with a printed number.
The suspect was detained earlier this week in connection with a break-in at the Argyle Community Centre and was among several persons held for questioning about the chopping crime. Investigators are reported to have searched the man’s home in Argyle yesterday afternoon and eyewitnesses told Newsday several items were taken from the premises.
During the course of interrogation on Thursday night, the man allegedly confessed to the murder of Feldmeier.
“That one we didn’t expect,” a source said. “He talked about things we didn’t ask him about.”
Feldmeier, 45, of south Germany, died on February 19 from a single stab wound to the neck outside an apartment near Summerland Suites, Bon Accord Development, where she worked as an assistant manager and a receptionist. A man was seen running from the scene shortly after the murder. A South African man, who she had dinner with before her death, was taken into police custody but was later released.
Feldmeier lived in Tobago for four months before her death. Staff members at Summerland Suites were reluctant to speak about the woman yesterday.
A relative of the suspect in the two crimes described him as “troubled” when interviewed yesterday.
“For some time now he has just been acting strange and giving his parents real trouble. They even had to move out of the house and rent an apartment to get away from him. He has a permanent job and doesn’t even want to go to work when the day comes,” said the relative.
The relative also said the suspect walked with a limp due to an injury to one of his feet and questioned whether he had the physical ability to commit the two gruesome crimes.
The attack on the Greenes has drawn international publicity, prompting the UK and Australian governments to advise their nationals to be careful when visiting Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago Government has condemned the crime.
The police top brass has since assigned ace Trinidad homicide detectives, ASP Johnnie Abraham and Insp Stanley Ramdeen to the chopping case in Tobago. They were among the team of investigators who interrogated the suspect before his alleged confession to the two crimes.
Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert yesterday said “investigations are being pursued with great enthusiasm” when questioned about the Greenes case.
A 24-year-old Lambeau man who was also held and whose home was searched by the police has since been released, while two Trinidadians remain in police custody.
