Murder toll jumps to 16By ALEXANDER BRUZUAL and STACY MOORE Tuesday, January 15 2013
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Baptist archbishop Patrick Brown at his home in McBean, Couva, in shock after his son Eugene Brown, 34, was shot and killed....
Four more murders on Sunday night — including one in Tobago — have officially pushed this country’s murder toll to 16, among them the son of a Baptist archbishop.
Dead are 21-year-old Micah Ramkissoon, 27-year-old Adrian Alfred, 34-year-old Eugene Brown, and 50-year-old Cheryl Lorna Adams.
These killings ended a weekend of bloodshed that saw the murder toll shot up from six to 16 in the space of 72 hours. While this number is still significantly lower than the figures for 2012 and 2011 for the same time periods — in 2012 there were 21 murders by January 14 and for the corresponding date in 2011 there were 22 — the figure has still left many senior police officials seriously concerned and troubled, especially since until Friday last, the rate of murders had seemed to be significantly decreased.
First, police reported that at about 8.30 pm, members of the E999 emergency services received a report that a 50-year-old woman had been found dead in her home.
It was said the mother of nine had been discovered lying on the floor of her Sundarsingh, Aranjuez, home, in a pool of blood with several stab wounds about her body.
The police were notified and a party of officers from the North Eastern Division Task Force, the San Juan Police Station, and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, including Superintendent John Daniel and Inspector Ali, visited the scene.
The area was cordoned off and Crime Scene Investigators conducted an intensive search of the area. It was said the living room appeared to be ransacked. However, relatives of the deceased woman indicated that, at the time, nothing appeared to be stolen.
Police are following certain leads, including questioning a man who lived with the deceased woman.
Meanwhile, the son of a Baptist leader was shot and killed while liming with friends a short distance from his Mc Bean Couva home on Sunday evening.
Thirty-four-year-old Eugene Brown of Calcutta No 3, Mc Bean Ext Road, Couva, was shot four times to the chest, neck and abdomen. He died on the spot.
According to police reports at about 5.30 pm, Brown was playing a card game with some friends in the vicinity of Grant Trace, Couva, when three men walked up and announced a hold up.
The men reports said, robbed Brown and others of a quantity of cash, but before leaving, one of the robbers pointed the gun at Brown firing several shots. Brown, eyewitness said, slumped to the ground. Eyewitness also said three men, one of them with a gun was scene running from the scene. Police officers were called on the scene, but a search for the men proved futile.
The area was condoned off with caution tape. A district medical officer pronounced Brown dead on the spot.
Yesterday when Newsday visited the family home in Couva relatives including Brown’s parents Anne Marie and Archbishop Patrick Brown were in a state of shock.
Brown (Eugene) was the eldest of six children and was also the father of two young children ages; three months and one year.
Archbishop P Brown told Newsday that the news of his son’s death came as a shock to him as he saw him one hour before the incident while he was officiating at a service at the church, St Ann’s Church of Spiritual Metaphysics which is in close proximity to the family house.
“From where I was standing in the church, I was speaking and I saw a car drop him (Eugene) off and then I saw him go inside the house. I didn’t even see him leave, I did not know he left the house, then I got a phone call one hour after he was shot,” the archbishop related.
Speaking about the death of Cheryl Adams to members of the media yesterday, neighbours described Adams as a kind and caring woman, who was always friendly with everyone on the street.
“She never really used to go out of her way to engage people; she was quiet by nature. But if you talked to her, she was always friendly and kind, and always had pleasant things to say. This right here has left us very confused. We don’t know why anyone would want to kill her. It is just so random, and we can only hope the police do their investigations, and find the persons responsible,” neighbours explained.
Investigations are continuing.
Then at about 11.20 pm, members of the Port-of-Spain Division responded to a report of a shooting along Village Council Street, Laventille.
Police reported that when they arrived at the scene, they found Ramkissoon’s bullet riddled body lying on the roadway a short distance away from his home.
The area was cordoned off and a party of officers from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, the Inter Agency Task Force, and the Besson Street Police, including Inspector Sahadeo Singh and Inspector Maraj, visited the scene.
The final murder was also reported at about 8.30 am yesterday. While up to press-time full details remained unavailable, Newsday learnt that yesterday morning Alfred’s bullet riddled body was discovered lying on a roadway.
The deceased man was said to originally hail from Bethel, Tobago, and he was shot multiple times about his chest and head.
This is the first murder in Tobago for the year thus far. In 2012, there were five murders in the sister isle, with the first occurring on January 13 with the death of 29-year-old Keegan Boxie from San Fernando. He succumbed to a gunshot injury he sustained during a robbery in Tobago. Investigations are continuing.
