The State yesterday tendered into evidence a statement in the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder detailing her treatment by her kidnappers and her death. It was one of four statements purportedly made by two of the men charged with murdering her. The two statements of Ronald Armstrong, one of the accused, were the highlights of yesterday’s proceedings. The matter resumes today with defence attorney Mario Merritt continuing his cross-examination of Cpl Vinod Sobie, who recorded both statements on May 10 and 12, 2007.
In the May 10 statement, Armstrong is said to admit to knowing nine of the other 11 accused and eight “since he was a baby.” He admitted to knowing another accused, Raphael Williams, who died before the matter came up before Justice Malcolm Holdip. In the statement of May 10, the jury heard while Naipaul-Coolman was kidnapped, Armstrong was by his sister and he knew she had been kidnapped on December 19, 2006 because he read it in the Express newspaper the following day.
The statement said on the day Naipaul-Coolman was taken from her home at Lange Park, Chaguanas, he saw two of his friends in La Puerta, Diego Martin, leave in a white car and one of them had in a plastic bag eight tie straps, a ski mask, a “Marvin Gaye” ski mask and a pair of cloth gloves. The next day he read in the newspapers she had been kidnapped and later in the evening he saw his friends by the Black Album, the house that she was allegedly kept while in the hands of her kidnappers, and they were saying, “Better days are coming,” and “We go eat a food and drink a juice.”
The statement said on December 21 Armstrong saw three men he knew in his apartment building counting “stacks of money” — over $200,000 — on a bed and when they saw him they pulled a sheet over the money and covered it.
Armstrong returned to his apartment upstairs, bathed and went to work. While he was there, the statement said, one of Armstrong’s friends told him they would not have to work hard again because the friend had two stacks of money. At this time Armstrong is said to have stopped the interview and drunk a guava drink. Twenty-five minutes later the statement resumed, with Armstrong saying another of his friends was loading bags of goods, including fried chicken, toilet paper, milk and a straw and placing them on the pool table in the Black Album before walking up the hill.
On January 6, 2007, the statement said, Armstrong was at home when yet another friend complained to him the friend had caused his brother to be arrested when police stormed their home. The friend said he was not directly involved in the kidnapping but used to cook for Naipaul-Coolman and gave her whatever she needed. The friend said three men had kidnapped the businesswoman and one of them had the gun, stuck it in her waist and the gun went off, “damaging Vindra breast an (sic) her jaw.” The shooter was told to stay with Naipaul-Coolman in a camp “in de river up on de hill,” the friend added.
The friend said Naipaul-Coolman was suffering and that her shooter had sexual intercourse with her. On January 4, 2007, two days before his confession to Armstrong, the friend said Naipaul-Coolman had died. The friend told Armstrong that on the day Naipaul-Coolman died her body was chopped up by a man, identified only as Jamal, and two other men, one of whom used to bring the food for her. The friend said another man, who was affiliated with the kidnapping, took most of the money and left the others with “scrumbs.”
The statement said Armstrong queried if the gun used to kidnap and kill Naipaul-Coolman was the gun that Keida Garcia was charged for possessing. The friend said he was unsure. Armstrong told him Garcia might “snitch” and “everybody would have to go down.” The statement ended at 4 pm and said Armstrong had burnt the plastic bag which contained the tie straps and ski masks. Earlier in the day the statements of Marlon Trimmingham were read to the jury. During cross-examination, Cpl Sobie, who was a constable at the time and took notes while then Supt Nadir Khan interviewed the men, denied the May 10 statement attributed to Armstrong was a fabrication. He added that a search carried out on May 15, 2007 was for a saw.