Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 28/Jul 23:38

Scotiabank employee murdered in Gasparillo: Killers send kids away, stab mom

Three men beat a petite 37-year-old mother of two in Reform Village, Gasparillo, in front of her children over the weekend before ordering them to go to a room. The men then stabbed and killed the woman, Crystal Giselle Peters, on July 27 around 11.30 am inside the two-storey house, which is under construction at Reform Residential, Phase Two. The frightened girls, six and nine, later found the body and alerted a resident. Peters, of Battoo Avenue in Marabella, worked as a premium loans officer at Scotiabank in San Fernando. She, her husband, and their children were hoping to relocate to Reform Village by Christmas. Since construction started last year, the family visited the site on weekends to check on the progress of the house. From what the police were told, the killers accosted Peters and asked for information about a contractor from the Sangre Grande area. At the family's home on July 28, her parents and other relatives were in shock over the killing. [caption id="attachment_1099073" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Victor Peters speaks about his daughter Crystal Giselle Peters who was stabbed to death on Saturday when she visited the construction site of her unfinished home in Gasparillo. - Photo by Lincoln Holder[/caption] Her mother Karen Mike said since the tragedy, she had been crying so much that she does not think she has the strength to cry anymore. Mike recalled that Peters and her children left home for dance class in Vistabella from 10 am to 11 am. That was the last time Mike saw her alive. Mike, a mother of three, then got a call and went to the scene but did not look at the body. "My daughter kept to herself. Her friends are her nieces and other relatives. She would celebrate events with them, but she was not a limer. "We had breakfast in the morning, and then she took the kids. I told her I was going to visit my mother. That was it. She never came back," Mike said. "The killers did not take anything. Her car was near the house. No one has ever threatened her about anything," Mike said. Peters' father Victor Peters said she was his only child. When Mike told him of the killing, he said he did not believe it. "This is really hard to take. She was always inside," he said. He recalled that his daughter never walked with cash. "She never had money with her. She knew how to budget. She had a bachelor's degree in accounting. [caption id="attachment_1099074" align="alignnone" width="1000"] The unfinished Gasparillo home of Crystal Giselle Peters. The mother of two was killed by two men who confronted her at the house on July 27. - Photo by Lincoln Holder[/caption] "She also went to the Teachers Training College and has a degree in Education." He turned 60 on July 28, but instead of a celebration, he was mourning. "The only reason I am not crying right now is because of them," the father said as he referred to his grandchildren. Another close relative added, "She was quiet. She was not selfish. She would help others any way she could. "This does not make sense. She was working hard towards finishing the house." Peters' husband Tyrell Roberts appeared in a daze and recalled their last conversation. He was on a video call with her when he heard a man's voice, and the phone was disconnected. "I was in Tobago, and she was showing me the progress of the house. "She was expecting work to be going on, but no workmen were there that day. "She told me they were leaving and then the children grabbed her." Roberts said she opened both arms and embraced them. The phone started to shake, and a male voice was heard in the background. "I tried calling her back many times but never got through. "She lived for her children, and we have been together since 2010," he said as he held back tears. He is hoping for the people responsible for the heinous crime to be arrested and charged. Police said the phone was destroyed and left near Peters's body. The police's victim support unit and Roberts's employer, Global Medical Response Ltd, offered counselling for the children. Head of the Southern Division Snr Supt Brian Soodeen visited the bereaved family and offered condolences. He told Newsday that Southern and Eastern Divisions officers are actively working with the homicide bureau. They are following several leads but opted not to give details as the investigation was ongoing. He said investigators have already interviewed several people who might be able to help solve the case and bring closure to the family. Around 11.35 am, a resident from Satyam Drive in Reform Village heard screams from the incomplete structure. Three masked men wearing gloves were seen leaving the premises in haste. They got in a maroon car, which sped off. One occupant was heard saying, "Drive, drive, drive." The body was found on the ground on the first floor in what appeared to be the kitchen area. The knife was still stuck to the left side of her neck. PCs Registe and Steele of the Gasparillo police station were among the first responders. The DMO, Dr Santlal, viewed and ordered that the body be removed to the mortuary of the San Fernando General Hospital, pending an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. Supt Persad, Sgt Mohammed and other police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region III, also visited and gathered evidence. Other Southern Division police on the scene were Soodeen, Insp Maharaj, Sgt Malloo and W/Sgt Lazarus. The suspects remained at large.   The post Scotiabank employee murdered in Gasparillo: Killers send kids away, stab mom appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.