Police are investigating three more murders in north Trinidad between Sunday and Tuesday night. The bodies of the victims were found yesterday. This latest spat of murders raised the toll for the year to 67. In the latest incident around 2.30 pm yesterday homicide detectives were summoned to investigate the murder of an unidentified man, whose headless and nude body was discovered in a forested area in Valencia.
The discovery was made by a tractor driver employed with National Quarries who had stopped to urinate. The victim, an African male, had several marks of violence, including several chop wounds to his upper body. Police believe the body was dumped there several days ago as it was in an advanced stage of decomposition. Homicide detectives are expected to run his fingerprints through their criminal database this morning in the hope he had a criminal record which would aid in his identification.
Less than an hour before, police found the decomposing body of 59-year-old taxi driver Edward Nyack at his home at Saddle Road, San Juan. Police said around 2 pm Nyack’s neighbour detected a putrid smell coming from the his home. He contacted police after he called Nyack’s phone several times and got no response. San Juan Police, led by Sgt Anslem Hosein, arrived on the scene and entered the house. The police found Nyack’s body in the living room wrapped in plastic from his head to his knees.
Nyack’s body was in an advanced stage of decomposition and crime scene investigators could not say if it had marks of violence. Investigators said they would await an autopsy to determine the cause of his death but they believed he may have suffocated. His neighbours told police he lived alone and the last time they saw him alive was on Sunday morning. Homicide detectives have classified his murder as a robbery as his Nissan Laurel taxi was missing from his garage.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, around 6 pm on Tuesday night police responded to a report of gunshots at Cemetery Street, Maryland, Belmont. The area was searched and police left soon after when they did not see any victims or gunmen. Almost 12 hours later, police were again summoned to the area after a resident reported seeing a man lying in a drain at the side of the road. When Belmont Police, led by Senior Supt Michael Roban, arrived on the scene they found the victim had gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Crime scene investigators found several spent shells near his body. Investigators said the victim, an African male, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans, did not have any identification on him. Police are calling on members of the public who can assist in identifying him to contact investigators at 621-2514. Post mortems on the three victims will be performed at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, today.