Two children witness murder and suicide

TWO CHILDREN are said to be the only witnesses to a murder and suicide, after their stepfather stabbed their mother to death before ingesting a poisonous substance, which resulted in his death some hours later. Dead are 36-year-old Lynette Sylvester and her husband, 45-year-old TSTT technician, Joseph Sylvester. The incident occurred at the couple’s home on the Lady Young Road in Morvant just after 7 am. According to reports, the couple was heard arguing early that morning, but neighbours said they thought nothing of it, as the couple had arguments from time to time.

One neighbour said: “I knew something was wrong when Joseph ran out of the house and told his sister, who lives next door, that he had just stabbed his wife. His sister, who was visibly scared after hearing what her brother had done, told Joseph to call the police and ran back inside her home. After that he (the deceased) went back inside.” The Emergency Health Service arrived shortly after Sylvester confessed that he had stabbed his wife to death. Reports state that when the EHS entered the house, they found the couple’s two children, a nine-year-old girl and a ten-year-old boy, crying hysterically. Lynette Sylvester’s lifeless body was found in the kitchen in a pool of blood, while her husband  was found a short distance away, frothing from the mouth. Police believe Sylvester drank the poison after calling the EHS.

The members of the EHS took Sylvester and the two children to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Sylvester was hospitalised for ingesting a poisonous substance, while his stepchildren were treated for inhaling the poisonous substance. While relatives kept hope for most of yesterday that Joseph Sylvester would survive his attempted suicide, they got word just before 3 pm that he had died. Officers from the Belmont Police Station linked the murder-suicide to domestic violence. Joseph Sylvester’s relatives refused to comment on the situation, but sources told Newsday the couple were only married for six months and had a history of domestic problems, both prior to and during the marriage. Cpl Bruce of the Belmont Police Station is continuing investigations.