Schoolgirl murdered

AN on-going feud between two female relatives, one a 20-year-old and the other a 14-year-old schoolgirl, who lived in the same house, ended in murder yesterday when during a fight, the elder woman allegedly stabbed the teen in her chest with an ice-pick.

Arouca police have since arrested the 20-year-old suspect and seized the murder weapon — a bloodstained ice-pick. According to police reports, around 2 pm Simone Pierre, 14, a Form Two student of Curepe Junior Secondary school, who lived at No. 54 Bally Trace, off Thavenot Street, Tacarigua, armed herself with a ‘bilna’ (rolling-pin) and a knife and confronted her cousin. The two later fought, with the suspect grabbing an ice-pick and stabbing Pierre once on the left side of her chest. The teen slumped to the ground, bleeding profusely. She was taken to the Arima District Hospital where around 3.45 pm, she was pronounced dead by Dr Prasad, while undergoing emergency treatment.

A team of Arouca detectives led by Cpl Darceuil visited the house and arrested the suspect. Police also seized the ice-pick, rolling pin and knife. Several relatives were questioned by police who recorded statements. The teen’s body was taken to the Port-of-Spain Mortuary and an autopsy will be carried out tomorrow at the Forensic Sciences Centre. Cpl Darceuil of Arouca CID is continuing investigations.