Two brothers killed after baby shower

Two brothers, Elton Delice and Allen Sterling, were shot dead while leaving a baby shower in Cocorite on Saturday night. A third man was also shot. The girlfriend of one of the murder victims, who is eight months pregnant, escaped gunshot injuries and was being  comforted at her Harding Place, Cocorite home yesterday by relatives. Up until yesterday, 72 persons were murdered for the year. Reports revealed that around 9.30 pm, Elton Delice, 19, of Wharton Street in Laventille, was walking in the vicinity of the Lady Hochoy Home in Cocorite with his brother Allen Sterling, 21, of L’Anse Mitan Road, Carenage; Justin Wint, 19, of John Street, Laventille and pregnant Sanelle Mathews, when a lone gunman began firing shots in their direction.

The two brothers, Delice and Sterling, were shot dead while Wint suffered a gunshot injury. He was listed in serious condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Police investigators, led by ACP Crime James Philbert, Snr Supt Lennox Gonzales and Sgt Nandram Moonilal went to the scene and carried out enquiries. Wint and Mathews were interviewed about the killings, but they were unable to identify the gunman or give a motive for the shootings. When Newsday visited the scene, residents of the area said that the shooting stemmed from an incident which occurred at the baby shower. The residents said that Delice reportedly cursed the girlfriend of a known gang-member based in Cocorite. The enraged man reportedly waited until Delice was walking out of Cocorite and then began firing  shots. Investigator in the matter, Sgt Moonilal, returned to the scene yesterday and a search was carried out for spent shells and other clues to assist in the investigation.

Earline Delice, the mother of the two murder victims, viewed the bodies of her sons at the Port-of-Spain Mortuary yesterday, and was comforted by neighbours as she walked to the steep hills leading to her Laventille home. “This is the worst nightmare any mother could face,” said the weeping woman in an interview with Newsday. She said that Elton, who lived at her home, told her on Saturday that he was going to a baby shower with his girlfriend and his elder brother. She said that she never knew that it would be the last time she would see her son alive. She was comforted by Damien Berkley, stepfather of the two victims. “I caught hell to support my children, and now to hear that they are both dead, this is too much to bear,” said the mother of five.

She said that Elton had started to work with his stepfather while Sterling was working at Crews Inn. The woman called on the police to find the person responsible for the murders and bring him to justice. She added that her sons had their faults but they did not deserve to be gunned down in cold blood. At Carenage, Elton Delice was described as a bandit and the leader of a known “gang.” A group of young men from L’Anse Mitan Road said that Delice lived by the sword and died by it. They added that his brother, Allen Sterling, was not a bandit.