A 65-year-old grandmother was found murdered at her Lange Park, Chaguanas home yesterday, in what police suspect may be a hit.
Rahzia Sieuchand, owner of R&Rs Drugs, a pharmacy located in St Helena, was found by one of her three children at her Ring Road home around 3 am.
Police said the killing did not appear to be a robbery as no valuables, including cash, were taken from the house.
Speaking with the media outside the home yesterday, relatives, who asked not to be identified, said Sieuchand was a family-oriented woman who worked hard to start her business in 1981 and harder to keep it running for the past 36 years.
When the T&T Guardian visited the business yesterday, it was locked with two hand-written signs informing customers that it will remain closed until further notice.
Sieuchand’s murder, the 211 case for the year, re-opened an old wound for residents of Lange Park, who recalled the 2006 kidnapping and subsequent murder of their neighbour Vindra Naipaul-Coolman.
Naipaul-Coolman was abducted from her Lange Park home on December 19, 2006. A $122,000 ransom was paid by her family but she was not released and her body has never been found. Nine out of 13 men charged with her murder were freed, two died before the end of the matter and a retrial has been ordered against two others.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian yesterday, neighbours said the latest killing had reopened wounds left by the Naipaul-Coolman matter. The few residents who spoke said they were now fearful for their own safety, as there have been other incidents of crime in the community but none as serious as a loss of life. One woman recalled that last week a bandit stole her neighbour’s car from their home at gunpoint.
One of Sieuchand’s relatives confirmed that the community kept to themselves and there had always been crime in the area which remained unreported.
“I will never say it is a safe community, the very first high-profile kidnapping case in this country, the person was kept in a house to the end of this street. I will never say Lange Park is a safe community. When I was younger there used to be a robbery literally once every fortnight,” the man said.
He added: “It is a very circumspect community and they don’t share what happens in Lange Park, but a lot of things do happen here. It is a quiet area but that doesn’t mean there is no crime, is just that we don’t hear about it.”
Police said they were uncertain of who would have wanted to harm or murder the businesswoman and are pursuing all leads.
Police said the murder also reminded them of the stabbing death of US citizen Cynthia Mathews, a 73-year-old pensioner who was found at her Arima home in January.
Derek John, 22, who also goes by the names Kevin Evangelist and Abdul Malick, has been charged in that case.
