(Trinidad Express) An association with gang elements in St James is now believed to have led to the murders of Korey Clarke and Samantha Patrick on Wednesday night.
Investigators told the Express that Clarke, 30, was known to them as having associated with gangs that operate in the Dundonald Hill community in St James.
They said in the past, Clarke had been the victim of a shooting in the area because of these links. His sibling was also a victim of that incident. However, both survived.
Clarke also had been linked to firearm-related offences and one such report had even ended in a fatality.
Police said Clarke was “well-known” to them and he was not a “saint” as his relatives had depicted him to be when they were interviewed last Thursday.
Clarke and Patrick were gunned down at their home at Woodbine Estate, Dundonald Hill, St James, around 11.30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Their seven-month-old daughter survived the attack.
According to police reports, when residents of the area heard the gunshots, they saw four men fleeing the home of Clarke, who operated a minimart in St James.
When the police arrived, a relative of Clarke entered the home and found the two victims dead on the bed.
The baby, who was crying and covered by the blood of her parents, was removed from the scene and placed in the care of relatives.
Clarke’s father Anthony told the media the murders had left the families in a deep sense of loss.
“We don’t know why anyone did this. Korey had a shop in the area where he would sell little things like beers and soft drinks and things like that. Now and then he would get contracts for URP to do some building in the area. And other times, he was helping this community out of his own pocket. You can ask anyone,” said Anthony Clarke.
“This road here (along Dundonald Road) he helped pave. He put up his own money for the carpark that residents in the area use, and he’s never even gotten the payout for that yet. He was still after the State for compensation, but he was never bad mind or vex or anything like that, so he didn’t even break up anything when they didn’t pay him.
“To him, at the very least, this was him giving back to the area that raised him. So for people to come and do this to him, I don’t even know what to say. You can ask anyone around here, he was a loving and well-loved individual,” he added.
Korey Clarke and Samantha Patrick
