Five murdered in ten hours in T&T

(Trinidad Express) Five killings in ten hours, including that of a 51-year-old mother of eight, between Friday night and yesterday morning, have pushed the country’s murder toll to 289 for the year so far.

Police reports yesterday indicated the first killing took place around 10 o’clock on Friday night.

Kerwin Birchwood, 20, of Phase 1 Powder Magazine, Cocorite was liming with friends and playing cards near his home when neighbours heard gunshots.

After investigating, neighbours found him bleeding on the ground where he succumbed to his injuries.

Snr Supt David and Insp John of the Western Division visited the scene.

Around 1.30 a.m. an 18-year-old construction worker of Guayamare Main Road was stabbed in the chest and died following an argument with two of his neighbours.

Three and a half hours later Alma Noray was shot while sleeping on the ground of her Beverly Hills, Laventille apartment.

Thirty minutes later Ragoonath Sooknanan, 50, of Tumpuna Road, Tunapuna was found slumped mere metres away from his variety store.

According to police Sooknanan, the owner of Carnelia’s Variety Store was on his way to his business place around 5.30 a.m. when residents heard gunshots. Sooknanan aka “Bull” was found lying on the pavement.

He died at the scene.

The last murder occurred around 10.40 a.m. yesterday. The dead man was identified as Joel “Garlic Sauce” Bodkin, 29, a former cadet.

Police said Bodkin, of Beverly Hills, Laventille, was at a shop at Straker Village when a group of men approached and opened fire.

Bodkin died at the scene.

Mother of eight Noray slept on the ground of her Beverly Hills, Housing Development Corporation (HDC) apartment at Laventille for one reason: she hoped she would be safe from the bullets that frequently hit her home from the other side of the hill.

Her safe haven did not prevent her death yesterday after she was shot while sleeping on a mattress in her living room.

Her two grandchildren, six-year-old Mickel and two-year-old Nickel, who usually sleep with her on the same mattress, were unharmed.

Police reports stated that Noray, 51, a mother of eight was asleep around 5 a.m. when a single shot broke through her living room window and hit her in the left hip. She was rushed to the Port of Spain General Hospital where she died while undergoing surgery.

Speaking at her mother’s Laventille apartment yesterday one of Noray’s two daughters, Kameela Noray said her mother never got the chance to sleep in her new bed.

“She buy a new bed. I went with her to buy the bed and just because of the shooting thing she don’t sleep on she bed, she rather sleep on the ground because she know she comfortable on the ground. But she didn’t know she not comfortable nowhere,” Kameela said yesterday.

She added: “I was not there. My sister called and told me that my mother just got shot. I don’t know what to say because like them fellas have no heart because they have mother and children and they have sisters. I wonder how they feeling?”

Noray who was affectionally called “Moms” by her neighbours was described by her daughter as loved by all.

“My mother used to feed all of them over there. How they could do that? I want justice because they would not like it if somebody kill their mother and father” Noray said.

Officers of the Homicide Bureau are continuing investigations.