While police continued their investigations into nine murders over the weekend, the victims’ relatives and friends gathered at the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday to identify their relatives and witness their autopsies. Scores of people began gathering outside the centre well before its doors opened. Many had to wait till late evening while pathologists and other staff tried to deal with the workload caused by the weekend murder spree. When a news team from the T&T Guardian visited the centre yesterday, large groups were seen huddled together in the car park while they waited for staff to tell them when their relatives’ bodies would be attended to. Most of the victims’ families refused to speak to the media, saying they preferred to grieve privately.
Relatives of Venice Chattergoon, who was stabbed to death near his home at Concerned Citizens Street, California, on Saturday night, spoke briefly with reporters. Chattergoon was reportedly liming and drinking with a neighbour, when they had a quarrel which resulted in Chattergoon being stabbed 28 times. Chattergoon, a machine operator, also played drums in a tassa group in his community. In an interview yesterday, Chattergoon’s father, Chanardath, denied that his son was the aggressor. “It is hard to believe that he attacked anyone. He had nothing with anyone. He made friends easily,” the elder Chattergoon said. He also dispelled reports that his son was an alcoholic. The suspect in Chattergoon’s murder had not been arrested up to late yesterday. An arrest is imminent, police said. A relative of 28-year-old Sangre Grande construction worker Sean Duncan also spoke, saying he was murdered by people who envied his success. Duncan was shot dead at his Mulchan Street, Guaico, home on Friday night, by two men who were dressed in police and army uniforms.
The relative, who identified herself only as Patsy, said Duncan bought a car and began renovating the house recently. “People were jealous of his car and how his family was living nice,” Patsy said. She said Duncan was hard-working and was not involved in a life of crime. The girlfriend of 24-year-old Michael Fox, who was among three men shot dead at Desperlie Crescent, Laventille, on Saturday, described him as helpful and loving. Keisha Hamit said Fox was originally from Santa Cruz and was staying temporarily in Laventille. Fox, his 21-year-old cousin Jamal, and friend Shaquille Bishop, 21, of Tunapuna, were found dead in a house on Saturday morning. They had all been shot. “He didn’t deserve to die like that,” an emotional Hamit said. Meanwhile, the two charred bodies that were discovered at a dump in Claxton Bay around 11 am on Saturday remained unidentified up to late yesterday. The bodies will be kept at the centre until relatives come forward to identify them.