(Trinidad Express) When her killer ended 79-year-old Viscella Richards’ life, Trinidad and Tobago lost an actor who decades ago had shone on international silver screens in the late ’60s and early ’70s.
Richards, who used the stage name Vikki Richards, was best known for her role as a supporting actor in Black Snake, a gritty 1973 British blaxploitation film shot on location in Barbados which focused on a man’s search for his brother on an island where a whip-wielding woman kept slaves on a plantation.
Other films included The Love Factor in 1969 and the Onedin Line in 1971.
Richards was found dead in her bedroom at her home in Valsayn on Wednesday.
The Express met Richards’ relatives, including her cousin, at the Forensic Science Centre, Federation Park, yesterday.
They recalled that she was the holder of both British and Trinidad and Tobago passports and had moved to the United Kingdom when she was just six years old.
The relatives, who asked not to be identified by name, explained that they had been very concerned about Richards’ safety when they realised that she was in the early stages of dementia.
“Yes, we were concerned about her safety because we were getting things in place to get somebody to stay with her as her illness progressed,” her cousin said.
She said Richards was still well enough to take care of herself, but couldn’t be left alone for much longer.
“We have lots of memories to talk about, but too much to mention,” she said. “She was a very friendly person, very outgoing and outspoken.”
Richards flew back and forth between Trinidad and Tobago and the UK. Following a trip in December last year, she returned to Trinidad in January.
“She loved to travel and shop. She loved being out and travelled throughout Europe. She loved Italy,” said Richards’ cousin.
Asked if she saw her cousin’s films, she said that she had seen a few, “but I never really kept up with the films she was in”.
Richards’ relative did not want to talk about how she died, but noted that pieces of jewelry from her house were missing.
Investigations continue and Richards’ body is expected to be examined today at the forensic centre to determine her cause of death.
Bruised wrists
Police said that around 12.30 p.m. on Wednesday, Richards’ caregiver arrived at the house and found the front door ajar.
On investigation, she said she found the place ransacked, with items strewn about as if someone had been searching for something.
She then found Richards dead in her bedroom.
The caregiver later told officers there were bruises on Richards’ wrists, as if she had been tied up previously.
There were also bruises on her head.
