Three murdered in nine hours

 

 

By Alexander Bruzual
 

Within the space of nine hours, three persons were murdered in separate incidents in St James, Belmont, and Laventille.
Dead are Alyrio Howard, 35, a father of two; Nikita Griffin, 28, a mother of three; and Shane Harper, 21.
The killings had officers of the Port of Spain Division, Western Division, and Homicide Bureau (Region 1) stretched thin as they attempted to appropriately respond to the reports that were coming in.
The first incident took place at about 8.50 p.m. on Tuesday on Carlton Avenue, St James, where Howard was proceeding east in a black Hyundai Accent when another vehicle pulled in front of his car, blocking his path.
At the same time, another vehicle pulled alongside him and the occupants of that car opened fire on Howard’s car.
The Hyundai veered off the roadway and crashed into the wall of a building where it came to a stop.
Both vehicles then sped off.
The police and Emergency Health Services were notified, but Howard was unresponsive when they arrived.
Officers from the nearby St James Police Station and Homicide Bureau, including Sgt Jones, Cpl Jupiter, Cpl Subiah, PC Phillip and PC Charles, responded.
The lawmen found Howard slumped against the steering wheel of his vehicle. He had been shot multiple times about his body.
Investigators were told that Howard had just left the Sagicor general office in Port of Spain, where he was employed as an accounting associate.
Several residents of the area were questioned and CCTV camera footage was obtained to be reviewed.
Howard’s mother, Lorraine Gail Howard, spoke briefly with the media yesterday.
Although she noted that the family had made a conscious decision not to engage with the media, she said they were all in a state of shock over the incident.
Lorraine Howard said her son was a “kind boy and loving boy” who never gave any trouble.
He was the father of a two-year-old boy and six-year-old daughter and had completed his studies abroad before going to work with the insurance agency.

 

In a statement to the Express from its Port of Spain office, Sagicor said it was with a “heavy heart” that the company had to inform employees of Howard’s death.
Sagicor said he worked late at the office on Tuesday night and it was informed that while driving home a vehicle stopped abruptly in front of his car in St James, while another pulled up behind him and an occupant started shooting.
The company said it was informed that both vehicles were later abandoned in St James.
Sagicor said it implemented its employee assistance programme to meet with staff members and provide a level of comfort.
Sagicor said it hoped the police will be able to bring Howard’s killers to justice.
The company described his death as tragic and said he was well liked by fellow-employees.
Asked for a comment yesterday, a close friend of Howard’s said he was in a state of shock.
The friend, who asked not to be named, said “Leo” had never spoken of being under threat or any pending danger.
“I am really in shock. Normally if he had any problems he would come to me. I saw him Tuesday evening and he was cool, He was going to help me with some music. He was a person who always had an upbeat attitude and if you were his friend would go out of his way for you. He loved to play football, he loved music, he loved his family. He was always there for his family,” said the friend.
Residents living as far as two streets away from Carlton Avenue said they heard the shots.
While the police were investigating that murder Tuesday night, they received a report that a man had been gunned down at Carr Lane, Belmont Circular Road, Belmont.
At about midnight, a party of officers, including ASP Winchester, Inspector Alvarez, Sgt Hinkson, PC Ramoutar, PC Balkarran and PC Ramdath among several others, visited the scene.
They found Harper’s bullet-riddled body lying on the road. He was dressed in a long black jersey and three-quarter jeans.
Up to press time, investigators had no motive for the murder.
Then, at about 5.30 a.m. yesterday, there was a report that a woman had succumbed to stabbing injuries at Port of Spain General Hospital.
When Homicide officers responded, they were informed that the victim, Griffin, was at her Clifton Hill apartment with her daughter when she got into an argument with a man known to her.
The woman, police were told, was confronted by the man, and during the argument the man took a knife and stabbed her several times about her body in front of the victim’s 13-year-old daughter.
However, the assailant placed Griffin in a vehicle and rushed her to the hospital. She was pronounced dead on arrival.
The man then fled the scene.
The bodies of all three victims were taken to the Forensic Science Centre in St James, where autopsies were performed yesterday.
Speaking to the media, Griffin’s female relatives blamed the police for her death, noting that recently she had made a report that she felt her life was in danger.
The women said had police kept her killer in custody instead of releasing him, Griffin would be alive today.
They said Griffin had returned from a party some hours before the incident and had got into an argument with the same individual. The police had been notified and the man had been removed from the house and detained.
He was subsequently released by the lawmen and relatives believe, fuelled by anger and jealousy, he returned to the house.
Relatives said the entire situation would have been avoided had the suspect been kept in jail until his temper had cooled off.
Griffin’s 13-year-old daughter was also in dire need of counselling, the women said, after she witnessed her mother being killed.
And Harper’s relatives simply said he was a kind person and they didn’t know why anyone would want him dead.
These killings took the murder toll for the year to date to 90.
At the same time last year, the figure was 108.