The mother of Azmon Alexander, the prime suspect in the murder and kidnapping of a Brasso Seco family, says she is relieved her son surrendered to police and was not hurt. Speaking yesterday at her home at Ackbarali East, Malabar, Mary Alexander said when she heard her son was arrested she hurriedly cooked him a meal of rice, lentil peas and chicken to take to him at the Arima Police Station but police did not accept the meal when she showed up.
Even though police had deemed her son T&T’s most wanted before he was held, she is convinced he is innocent. “I don't know if it is truth or lie. I am a praying woman. He was a jolly boy, nice to people. I not getting that in me that he do that. It have rumours and people saying things and putting their mouth on him but I don’t believe it in here,” the 61-year-old grandmother said, pointing at her chest.
She said she had not seen her son in over a year before he escaped from the Mayaro Magistrates Court on January 31 after appearing on kidnaping and robbery charges. The woman said she was worried for her son who was on the run from police in the Brasso Seco forest since the disappearance of a family of four and their neighbour in late October. “I used to talk to him all the time and he said he would surrender when he ready. I know the police didn't catch him. He surrendered. I am so happy to know they catch him and didn't hit him. Sometimes I does feel cold here in the night and I used to get up and pray. I used to imagine how he used to feel in the bush with all that rain,” she said.
She said her plea on November 17 for him to surrender might have contributed to his capture on Sunday. According to police reports, around 10.30 am on Sunday officers of the Northern Division Task Force, led by Insp Mark Maharaj, chased a green Mazda car along Lennox Yearwood Boulevard, Malabar. Alexander, police said, was a passenger in the car and was armed with a cutlass. He did not resist when the car was stopped. He and the driver were arrested and taken to the Arima Police Station. The driver, who senior police sources said last night is one of Alexander’s brothers, was questioned and released without charge on Sunday.
Background
Alexander was identified as a “person of interest” in the disappearance of Brasso Seco residents Irma Rampersad, 49, her daughters—Felicia, 17, and Jennelle Gonzales, 19—and Jennelle’s daughter 14-month-old Shania Amoroso. He was also suspected to be involved in the disappearance of Rampersad’s neighbour, Felix Martinez, 52. The family members were last seen on October 26 and reported missing two days later. Martinez also was reported missing but residents thought he had gone on a hunting trip.
On November 8, his body was found in a sleeping bag along with baby Shania. On November 11, Rampersad’s body was found near a tree. All three bodies were found badly decomposed in the Brasso Seco forest. Both Rampersad and Martinez were strangled, according to autopsies. The cause of death for baby Shania remains unknown as her autopsy was inconclusive due to the advanced stage of decomposition. Three days after Rampersad’s body was found, sisters Jennelle and Felicia were rescued from a make-shift camp in the Lalaja forest. On November 15, a 17-year-old suspect surrendered to police, saying he had information pertaining to the girls’ capture.
