Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 31/12/2024 08:57

2024: A year of bloodshed

The Chinese dubbed 2024 the Year of the Dragon, but in Trinidad and Tobago it became a year of pain, sorrow and bloodshed for hundreds of families. Grim records were shattered. The country’s all-time murder toll record which was set in 2022 (605) was broken, as the toll stood at 623 with one day left in the year. This included over 40 women and ten children losing their lives to heinous, violent and brazen acts of murder. The country also witnessed a surge in mass killings, including 33 double homicides, eight triple homicides, four quadruple homicides, and two horrific incidents involving the murder of five people. Tobago also experienced a record high number of murders – 26. [caption id="attachment_1129843" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Residents look on as police investigators process the scene where Anthony Maynard was killed in Plymouth, Tobago on May 15, 2024. - Photo courtesy Visual Styles[/caption] The country also experienced some of the bloodiest months this year, as August saw 68 murders being recorded – two more than July, which had 66. August tied for the second bloodiest month in TT’s history with August 2022. In November 2021 there were 69 murders – the all-time record. The monthly murder toll has been 60 or more ten times in the past: in January and May of 2018 (60 each); July 2019 (60); November 2021 (69); July (65) August (68) and October (66), 2022; and January, (61), July (66) and August (68) 2024. 'Failed' crime plans?  Three deputy commissioner of police (DCPs) were appointed this year. They are DCP in charge of operations Junior Benjamin; DCP in charge of intelligence and investigations Suzette Martin; and DCP in charge of administration Natasha George. Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher also had her tenure as head of the police service extended on May 15. The Prime Minister announced at a PNM public meeting in San Juan on January 18 that he would direct Finance Minister Colm Imbert to allocate $100 million to the Defence Force (TTDF) for use in communities where development was stymied by crime – hotspot areas. “The money that we will make available, as I am describing here, will be made available to the Defence Force leadership.” Rowley said this money would be used by the TTDF “to retain and to hire reserve officers or retired officers and recruits, to go into those communities and ensure that what has to be built is built. “Where security has to be on the street, it is there and when people can rely on them (TTDF) and not the local don who believes that they are somehow bigger than the Government and the people of TT.” [caption id="attachment_1129891" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Crime scene investigators remove the body of one of three men killed at Pizza Boys/Ritual Coffee House, on the Southern Main Road, Cunupia in July. - File photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption] On February 5, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds told Newsday the media could expect an update on that proposed injection of $100 million to assist hotspot areas on February 6. On March 27 at a post-Cabinet briefing, Dr Rowley said a group of Cabinet ministers were actively working on plans for the money. “So hopefully we are aiming to be able to roll out some of the activities and put a structure in place to deal with it, by the end of April. So it is being looked at.” Newsday tried to contact the PM by WhatsApp on December 29 to ask about this initiative. Up to publication time,  no response was given. On July 8, the Call to Order project was launched. The project, an anti-crime initiative, saw the government partner with local reggae artistes in an attempt to use music and social media to steer youth away from crime while spreading a positive messages. The Call to Order, a three-month-long competition, saw youth between eight and 24 record videos of them singing their own lyrics, using the instrumental. Newsday was not able to gain any further information on whether a winner had been determined or not. The winner of each age group was promised studio time and a professional music video valued at $10,000. MP for Port of Spain South Keith Scotland was named a minister in the Ministry of National Security in charge of police at a post-Cabinet media briefing on July 25. Newsday tried to contact CoP Harewood-Christopher five times by phone on December 27, but was unsuccessful. Newsday further tried to contact her by WhatsApp, but she did not reply to questions asked. Police perspective on 2024  This year, the police detection rate for homicides was under 15 per cent. On December 29 Newsday spoke to a senior police officer in the Homicide Division who said owing to the higher murder toll, the detection rate would be notably lower. “More murders will make your detection rate look less because of the (number) of murders.” Asked if the division was properly resourced to solve murders, he said, “Solving murders is based on a number of factors. Each case has its own solvability factors.” The officer said the biggest issue homicide officers face is the fear of the general public. “People are afraid to give evidence. When you look at the percentage (of murder that) is gang-related, the fear factor is real. “Look, men come and shoot a man in front of the Besson Street Police Station. What would you, as a normal civilian, think if you have seen a crime?” He said this fear among the public is the biggest obstacle to police solving murders. He also called for an expanded and fully-functional national CCTV network to help the police. Newsday also contacted DCP Benjamin on December 29. He said the police were committed to crime-fighting and said more “in your face” policing would be used. “Every division has their own fingerprint when it comes to crime. We do not use one brush to use for all the division. We look at all the divisions and apply the strategies in order to reduce crime. "It is going to be about crime prevention, crime suppression and crime intervention, where we will look at the root causes.” Women no longer safe  Three women were killed on January 2 – an indication of the year to follow. Teneisha Jackie, 19, was the first woman killed. Jackie and a 30-year-old man were in a silver Hyundai Elantra  after midnight on January 2 when another car pulled up next to them. Two gunmen got out and shot at them, got back into the car and drove off. Jackie died at hospital, and the man was treated for his injuries. Also on January 2, Calida Schamber, 43, and her 66-year-old mother Carmelita DeLeon were shot and killed. A man they knew was eventually charged for the murders. [caption id="attachment_1129831" align="alignnone" width="828"] Calida Schamber -[/caption] On February 5, a 72-year-old woman was found murdered at her Santa Rosa, Arima home. She was Hyacinth Gardner, a Trinidadian living in the US, who had returned home to oversee repairs on her property. Her car was later found crashed in Wallerfield. A 26-year-old Venezuelan woman identified as Isabelle Virginia Lozada Morales was stabbed to death outside her apartment in Cunupia on February 25 after a dispute with two other Venezuelans. On March 6, a 79-year-old Valsayn woman identified as Viscella Richards (also known as Vikki, she had been a formerly UK-based actress) was found dead in her home after an apparent home invasion. Richards’ body showed no visible marks of violence and police believed she had suffered a heart attack.   Crystal Harricharan, 34, was shot dead in her car on April 9. Relatives of the mother of two, originally from Claxton Bay, said she had been fearful for her life and reported to police that she had received several death threats, allegedly over a parking dispute, earlier in the year. In Tobago, the body of Shellon Walters-Joseph was found over a precipice at Saw Mill Trace, Mt St George on May 4. Five days later, the second woman in Tobago was killed. She was Nikesha Sandy of Plymouth. Police said Sandy was on her way to work when two men approached and one took out a gun and shot her. The men then ran off. Shermell Roberts, 36, was shot dead as she arrived at her Barataria home on May 13. Neighbours said she had received death threats, but never reported them to the police. She had two children. [caption id="attachment_1129839" align="alignnone" width="1017"] Sadna Gangoo -[/caption] Sadna Gangoo, 44, was shot dead after her shift at the Princes Town District Health Facility at Circular Road on June 26. Police said around 4.30 pm, the nurse was walking to her BMW car, which was parked by the road next to the facility, when a Nissan Tiida pulled up nearby. A man got out, walked up to her and started shooting, hitting her in the back of the head. She died instantly.   Carissa Ramrattan from Rio Claro was shot on the compound of Toyota’s south office and later died at hospital on July 13. The gunmen grabbed her handbag after shooting her and drove off. [caption id="attachment_1129832" align="alignnone" width="828"] Carissa Ramrattan -[/caption] A 37-year-old mother of two was beaten and then stabbed to death in a two-storey house which was still under construction. Crystal Giselle Peters was murdered on July 27 around 11.30 am. Her two children – six and nine – found their mother’s body and alerted a nearby resident. Jamiela Cumberbatch, 26, was shot dead at her La Retreat Road home on July 28. Samantha Chadee, 19, was shot and killed in Marcano Quarry, Laventille along with Walter John, 36, after they were ambushed. Chadee was four months pregnant. Victoria “Dolly Boss” Guerra was shot and killed in Tobago on August 5. She was liming at Lammy Road, Argyle when gunmen shot at the crowd she was with. She died at hospital. [caption id="attachment_1129833" align="alignnone" width="864"] Victoria “Dolly Boss” Guerra -[/caption] Anjanee Lutchman-Isidore, 65, was found dead by a relative on August 6 on the floor in the kitchen of her two-storey home in Maraval. Marlah Boodram, 56, was beaten to death by a close male relative at the family’s Princes Town home on August 12. A 31-year-old man was arrested and charged for her murder. Keifer Wilson, 28, of Gasparillo was killed on August 13 after she was chased and struck with a car. A man she knew was charged with her murder. [caption id="attachment_1129834" align="alignnone" width="734"] Keifer Wilson -[/caption] Sherayne Salandy, 36, was killed along with Kevin Lucas around 3 am on August 18 in Sangre Grande. Reshma Peters’s body was found on August 25 around 10 am at the roadside at Mohess Road with injuries to the head, hip, and right leg. Her husband had also been chopped. Siblings Shenelle, 16, and Keston Singh, 21, were chopped to death by a man in Princes Town on September 4. Afiya Adams, 42, died at hospital after being set on fire during an argument on September 14. Keisha Blackman was stabbed to death during an argument in Carenage on September 29. Police said a suspect was in custody. Alana De Leon, 30, of St Joseph, was sexually assaulted before being stabbed to death. Her body was found on October 5. Tara Ramsaroop, 34, and her 14-month-old daughter Jada Mootilal were chopped to death by a close male relative on October 8. Relatives said their deaths came after years of being physically abused by the suspect. [caption id="attachment_1129895" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jassodra Rajaram, sister of murder victim Tara Ramsaroop, is held by family members upon the arrival of the bodies of Ramsaroop and her 14-month-old daughter, Shermaya "Jada" Motilal, during their funeral at GP Road, Barrackpore on October 12. - Photo by Jeff K Mayers[/caption] Sunita Mohammed, 50, of Gasparillo died from head injuries after allegedly being pushed by a man on October 10. Laura Sankar, 34, of Princes Town was chopped to death in front of her 16-year-old son by a close male relative on October 12. Jaime Mohammed, 46, was missing for close to a month before her decomposing, headless body was found on November 14. She was last seen on October 18. Whitney Narine, 21, and her boyfriend Basdeo Lallan, 49 were gunned down at their home on November 28. Aamina Mohammed, 68, was stabbed to death in a home invasion on December 14. Stacy Gopaulsingh, 36, was hacked to death in a home invasion in Moruga on December 23. Police have since successfully followed leads in the case. Adana “Sixx Boss” John was stabbed to death after a quarrel with a man on December 24. Children suffer similar fate Roughly 13 children were murdered this year. Several of them were babies who died under mysterious circumstances, and Newsday could not gain information on the results of the autopsies. The first child to be murdered for the year was 15-year-old Isabella Teelucksingh. [caption id="attachment_1129840" align="alignnone" width="576"] Isabella Teelucksingh -[/caption] On January 15 she was standing with a group of villagers on Savary Road when a gunman started shooting. She and another relative were hit. Teelucksingh died the next morning. A 46-year-old man was charged with her murder. Ezekiel Paria, 12 was killed by a stray bullet on February 22 while standing on Laventille Road, East Dry River when gunmen ambushed a passing vehicle. [caption id="attachment_1129835" align="alignnone" width="768"] Ezekiel Paria -[/caption] Amy Rianna Doodnath, a baby from Penal, died on March 5 after her relatives took her to the Siparia Health Facility for a checkup for what appeared to be a minor head injury. An autopsy on March 11 at the Forensic Science Centre, St James said she died from blunt force trauma. One of the more gruesome murders involving children this year was that of four-year-old Amarah Lalitte. [caption id="attachment_1129836" align="aligncenter" width="473"] Amarah Lalitte -[/caption] Lalitte was beheaded by a male relative on April 8. Police said Lalitte’s mother and a male relative had a quarrel at their home on Fifth Street, Arouca. The mother escaped and went to the Arouca Police Station to report the incident. She returned home escorted by the police and discovered her daughter’s lifeless body in the house. Police eventually found the child’s head in a barrel inside.  They detained the suspect, who was still at the scene. A post-mortem on Lalitte’s body on April 11 revealed she had been beaten before being beheaded. Christian Lashley, 15, was stabbed to death in a “play fight” on June 9 at the Chrissie Terrace Recreation Ground, Chaguanas. Dwayne “Foots” Carambocas, 17, of Arima, was liming at a friend’s house on June 11 when he was gunned down. Aaliyah Santo, 16, was shot dead in Antigua Road, Wallerfield while liming with two people in a bedroom of a neighbour’s house on August 27. Enrico Guerra and his five-year-old daughter Anika Guerra were shot dead at their St Mary’s Village, Moruga home on August 20. [caption id="attachment_1129837" align="alignnone" width="719"] Enrico Guerra and hisdaughter Anika Guerra -[/caption] Three gunmen attacked Enrico at his shop around 10 pm. He ran inside for cover but one of the gunmen followed and shot him. Anika was hit multiple times in the face, arm and lower back. On December 20, 16-year-old Jeremiah Outram of La Horquetta was shot in the head. Police said a 15-year-old girl was playing with a loaded gun at the family’s home when the gun discharged. Outram died on the spot. Mass murders: the 'new normal'  The new norm in TT has become attacks targeting multiple people at once. On January 16, Israel Mc Laren, Shaqkeem Dennis and Jammol Williams were killed when gunmen attacked them outside their Paradise Heights, Morvant homes. On February 26, Antonio Trim, 29, Jevone Peters, 32, and Kirby Victor, 37, were in a car at Saddle Road, Maraval when gunmen ambushed them at around 5.30 pm on February 26. The trio’s car was riddled with bullets and all three men died on the spot. On March 11, Jeremiah George, 20, his brother Marcus Buddy, 37, and their father, Buddy George, 59, all of Martha Street, Couva, along with gardener Dion Keyon Mendoza, 29, were made to lie face-down as gunmen dressed as police pumped bullets into their heads from close range. The men were camping in Mayaro. Five days later, Rudolph James, Randy Graves, Pete Noray, Devon Jack and Sgt Larry Phillips were shot dead while liming at Harpe Place in East Port of Spain. Three others were injured. On May 4, at Powder Magazine, Cocorite, Shaquille Ottley, 22, Jonathan Osmond, 36, Antonio Jack, 57 and Sadiki Ottley, 31, were gunned down and eight others injured. On June 2, Jayden Reyes, Peter Williams, 31, Kevin “Grimes” King, 33, and Johnathon “Johnny/Jman” Arjoon, 23, were gunned down in Gonzales, Belmont. The first shooting took place in Gonzales after a football game. One man died there. The gunmen followed the injured men to the Port of Spain General Hospital and shot at them again. Three others died outside the hospital. On July 8 in Black Rock, Tobago, there was a quadruple murder. Anslem Douglas, Gregory Hamlet and Samuel McKain were killed after gunmen ambushed them. Jomoke Duncan was shot and wounded, then died later at hospital. Three Diego Martin men, including a Coast Guard officer, were shot dead in Cunupia in a brazen daylight hit on July 14. At around noon, Dave Lyons, 24, Jah-Marley Goddard, 23, and Earl Peters, 33, went into Rituals/Pizza Boys on the Southern Main Road. The trio returned to their car and were about to leave when a car slammed into theirs. Two gunmen got out and shot the three multiple times. On September 5 in Icacos, Joshua Sadoo, 21, Kareem Celestine, 36, and Jabari Kenyon Abiola, 26, were all shot dead. Three others were injured. Four days later, Marlon Lee, 41, Maleek Lee, 17, and Salina Rodriguez, 34, were all gunned down at their home at Sita Trace off Pioneer Drive, Petit Valley. On November 12, Belmont experienced another mass murder. Josiah John, 21, Kadeem Andrews, 22, and 28-year-old Algernon Ryan were gunned down while driving along Belmont Circular Road opposite Willis Street. On December 30, five men were shot dead at a shop in Prizgar Lands, Laventille: Ryan Lessey, Derron Calliste, Cleon Lugin, Kambon Omowale and Gareth Smart.   The post 2024: A year of bloodshed appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.