4 MURDERS IN 9 HOURS

The murder victims included an elderly man whose throat was slit and his fingers chopped-off, a homeless man who was beaten to death, a Fyzabad man who was fatally stabbed and a Diego Martin man who was gunned down along the Diego Martin Main Road.

The murder spree yesterday brought an end to a particularly bloody week where between Monday and yesterday, nine murders were committed including one where an off-duty police constable was gunned down when he tried to escape from armed carjackers near Grand Bazaar.

The following is a list of yesterday’s murders in chronological order from murder No. 335 to 338.

Murder No 335 — Homeless man beaten to death

The corpse of a man of no fixed place of abode was discovered by pedestrians at 4.30 am at the Greyfriars Church of Scotland off Frederick Street in Port-of-Spain. A man who was found near the body of the unidentified murdered man, has been held in connection with the killing.

Police said that the man was seen lying in a pool of blood by pedestrians who alerted the police. Officers said there were marks of violence about the man’s body. A man who was asleep near the body and was found clutching a bloodstained length of wood, has been detained.

Snr Supt Glen Hackett visited the scene. Insp Harvey Jawahir of the Port-of-Spain CID is leading investigations.

Murder No 336 — Stabbed man dies at hospital

Four hours after being stabbed in the chest during a fight in Fyzabad, a 30-year-old man died while receiving treatment at the San Fernando General Hospital. Watchman Eddison “Bumble” Bruno of Southern Main Road in Fyzabad was stabbed when he went to the aid of his father during a fight.

According to police, at about 1 am, Bruno who was a watchman at Petrotrin Sports Club in Palo Seco, was at a bar liming with friends and his father Allan Bruno, 58, a short distance from their home when both father and son got into an altercation with a group of other patrons at the bar.

During the altercation, the younger Bruno was stabbed repeatedly and slumped to the ground. Three men ran off shortly after the stabbing. Bruno was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where four hours later at 5 am, he succumbed to his injuries.

Bruno’s sister Erica Bruno, 26, said the fight started when her father asked a man not to lean on Eddison’s Lancer car which was parked near the bar. “A fight broke out and Eddison went to our father’s aid and was stabbed in the process. He was stabbed to death over such an unimportant issue as not leaning on a car,” Erica said. The front windscreen of the victim’s car was smashed.

The bar remained closed yesterday as police revisited the scene at midday to continue investigations. Two men are assisting police while the hunt continues for a third suspect.

Murder No 337 — Man’s throat slit, fingers cut off

Two hours after Eddison Bruno succumbed to his stabbing injuries at hospital, the body of 60-year-old Melvin “Bullet” Goodridge was found on the floor in the bedroom of his Ramdhanie Trace, Indian Walk, Moruga home. His throat was slit, two fingers on one of his hands were cut-off and there were multiple chop wounds about his face and head.

According to a police report, at 7 am, Goodridge’s son Allister went to check on his father and made the gruesome discovery. A report was made to the police. Goodridge who retired from the Works and Transport Ministry last month, was last seen alive by relatives on Thursday.

“Oh God look how they chop up my son like he is a piece of meat! God have mercy...he did not deserve to die like this,” Goodridge’s 87-year-old mother Agatha screamed at her home located next door to his (the victim’s) home.

She said that her son’s dream was to use his retirement to renovate his home. Goodridge’s sister Joan described him as “a loving brother” and said he did not deserve this kind of death. “He was telling about his plans now that he had retired. He wanted to fix up his home,” Joan said.

Another relative said that a painter came calling on Goodridge and getting no answer, alerted his (Goodridge’s) son Allister who went into the house and discovered the elderly man’s body on the floor in a bedroom. Police said they had no motive for the gruesome killing and no arrests have been made.

Murder No 338 — Man gunned down on road

Daryl Edwards, 23, died yesterday at the side of the Diego Martin Main Road near to Richplain Road after being shot several times. According to police, at about 1.10 pm, Edwards of Mercer Road, Diego Martin was standing in front of a store when four men confronted him and shot him several times.

Bleeding heavily from multiple gunshot wounds, Edwards ran across the main road and collapsed at the side of the road where he bled to death. Police said they had no motive for this killing but knew Edwards well. The shooting took place less than a block away from the West End Police Station. No arrests have been made.

Apart from these four murders, during the past week, off-duty policeman Jason Thomas was shot dead on Monday night by a group of men who held him up and attempted to steal his taxi near Grand Bazaar. Also on Monday, teens Paulanaris Persad Kissoon, 14, and Hassan Murray, 18, were gunned down inside a kindergarten in St Joseph. On Thursday, the decomposing body of taxi driver Russell Badaloo was found at his Spring Village, Valsayn South home. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and his head covered in a plastic bag. Also on Thursday, 21-year-old Ronald Barrow was shot dead in front of his Laventille home.