Trinidadian man in Brooklyn killed girlfriend, then slashed his wrists

Erica Renaud (left) and Romeo Borneo
Erica Renaud (left) and Romeo Borneo

(Trinidad Newsday) A Trinidadian man is suspected of slashing the throat of his girlfriend in their Brooklyn apartment yesterday, after which he slit his own wrists. Police identified the suspect as Romeo Borneo, 58. He was rushed to Kings County Hospital in a serious condition.

According to an article on the New York Post newspaper last night, Borneo was not immediately charged.

The victim, is Erica Renaud, 47, who had Trini-roots. The article said police responded to a 911 call around 5.10 am yesterday for an assault inside the fifth-floor apartment on Lefferts Avenue near Sterling Street in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.

There they found Renaud’s body which showed signs indicating it had been dead for several hours before being discovered. Police recovered a knife inside the apartment where she and the Borneo lived. No one else was believed to be inside the apartment at the time of the incident. Renaud worked as a cafeteria supervisor at NYU.

A man, Tony Joseph, who said he was like a brother to Renaud told the New York Post that she had been saving money to move out of the home where she was staying with Borneo. Newsday learnt that Borneo migrated to the US years ago. He previously lived at Princes Town and has family in Moruga.

Reneau was also a popular pan player in Brooklyn. In an article by When Steel Talks’ website expressed her love for steelpan and saying one of Reneau’s parents is a Trinidadian. “My vision for the steel pan instrument is for its popularity to reach audiences as wide as the piano has, ” she said in the website which promotes pan.