(Trinidad Express) A fight between a woman and two teenage girls which was filmed and later went viral may have caused her murder.
The fight between Mariah Neptune, 18, another teen and a 21-year-old young women was filmed on Sunday and had gone viral by Monday.
On Thursday night, gunmen showed up at Neptune’s home and shot her at point blank range.
Neptune lived with her mother, father and eight other relatives at Macoya Settlement, Tunapuna.
Police said around 10.30 on Thursday night Neptune was in the front yard of her home when she heard her name called.
They said she opened the galvanised metal gate and standing in front of her were two men with guns. They shot the girl twice to the chest.
Neptune ran a short distance from her house and collapsed on the road.
The two gunmen ran in the other direction towards Macoya Road and then north towards the Priority Bus Route, according to witnesses.
Neptune’s relatives placed her in a car and took her to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where she died.
A team of Homicide Bureau officers led by ASP Haynes and Insp Birch visited the scene where they spoke to Neptune’s family and neighbours.
Fight video may have led to murder
Police were told about a video of a fight between Neptune, a 16-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman which took place in the neighbourhood on Sunday evening.
They were also told Neptune and the other teen had beaten the 21-year-old who later threatened them as a video of the fight had been shared among neighbours on social media.
Police said they were investigating this but could not immediately confirm if this was the reason Neptune was shot dead.
“This is talk on the street but no evidence to support it and we heard the same thing about the social media video, but we really cannot confirm if it was this that led to the murder,” said senior officer.
The Express spoke to Neptune’s relatives at Macoya Settlement yesterday.
“Mariah always smiled and had fun and made jokes and she loved to laugh,” said a relative who did not want to be identified. “Every photo of her is her smiling and dancing and laughing.”
Another relative said following the altercation between the three young women, the 21-year-old reported it to the Tunapuna Police Station who visited the area.
Reflecting on Neptune’s murder, the relative said: “This one takes the cake because Mariah just started a nursing course at a school in San Juan and she was always taking care of people because she had been babysitting since she was 13.
“Lord, she didn’t have to be killed because of a fight. She now turn 18. I mean, I was there with her in her last moments and I am saying to myself out of everything you can get killed for…a fight? I never expected it to get that serious,” she said.
