Two men die after brawl in Buccoo

.Dead are Anthony Stephen Boothe, 55, of Sandy Street, Buccoo, and Dominic Timothy, 20, of Buccoo New Road, Shirvan, near Buccoo.

According to a police report, Timothy died on the scene at the back of the abandoned building while Boothe died a couple hours later at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH).

The incident occurred at about 9 pm.

Boothe was reportedly born in England to Jamaican parents. He returned to Jamaica and lived there as a child and later went back to England where he had been living before coming to Tobago about two years ago. According to reports, Boothe, who was the holder of a British passport, had been living at the home of a woman at Sandy Street for the past nine months. It is reported that he regularly received money from England. This was confirmed by the woman at whose home he was living, but who asked that her identity be withheld.

“Relatives in England used to send money for him,” she told Sunday Newsday.

Timothy was said to have been a handyman doing odd jobs for residents in the Shirvan/Buccoo area.

There are conflicting reports as to the circumstances surrounding the incident. While initial reports indicate the men were engaged in an illegal card game at the abandoned building, several villagers insisted this was not the case when Sunday Newsday visited the area yesterday. In fact, it is reported that Boothe and a man became involved in a dispute while liming with a group of persons near to a bar in the area, in the proximity of the abandoned building. Boothe reportedly left the scene and returned with a knife.

The altercation is said to have ensued between Boothe and the unidentified man, resulting in a chase which ended at the back of the abandoned building. Timothy reportedly intervened and was stabbed. He fell to the ground and died. Several persons then reportedly turned on Boothe and viciously beat him into unconsciousness. His head was bludgeoned and there were what appeared to be stab wounds in the neck region, sources said. Boothe was rushed to the Scarborough Hospital and shortly afterwards transferred to the PoSGH where he later died.

However, other reports indicate that following a dispute several men attacked Boothe and he retaliated by stabbing Timothy who was reportedly among the attackers. Meantime, persons said to have been eyewitnesses to the incident remained tightlipped yesterday as to what actually transpired. Officers of the Scarborough CID and Homicide Bureau (Tobago) are continuing investigations.