MINUTES after confessing to a priest about his marital problems, a 41-year-old father of two chopped his wife to death, set his house on fire, then hanged himself.

Police investigators believe that the man, Glen Martin Rajpaul, a mechanic at Petrotrin, of Ramjattan Trace, Penal, murdered his wife, Gillian, 32, when he suspected she was involved with another man. Police said that as a result of their domestic problems, Gillian had left her matrimonial home, at Ramjattan Trace, Penal, and had returned only two days ago in a bid to resolve their problems. According police reports, Rajpaul left home early yesterday morning to drop off his two children — Nyron, 15, and Nakita, 17 — to their respective schools at Penal Convent and Barrackpore Secondary Comprehensive.

Rajpaul then went to the Penal Roman Catholic Church where he met the priest. There he held, according to reports, a 15-minute discussion with the priest in which he complained about domestic problems both he and Gillian had been experiencing. Rajpaul and Gillian were married at the same church 18 years ago, where he and his family often attended services. Reports stated that around 9 am, Rajpaul returned home but unconfirmed reports stated that he again confronted his wife Gillian about her infidelity. Police said that the husband dealt his wife several chops about her body. The woman was chopped on the neck and back. Rajpaul then proceeded to set the house on fire. The husband, the report stated, then tied an electrical cord around his neck and hanged himself in the corridor of his house.

Neighbours who saw the flames, tried to break down the front door and called out to the couple, but there was no answer. The house quickly became engulfed in flames thus preventing neighbours from entering. However, they managed to ‘push’ the couple’s Sentra motorcar out of the yard. Firemen from the Siparia Fire sub-station arrived shortly after and put out the blaze, but they were only able to save the downstairs of the two-storey three bedroom house. Police and firemen, searching the burnt house, first discovered Rajpaul’s body lying in the corridor with an electrical cord around the neck. On further checking the rubble, they discovered Gillian’s body in a bedroom. She was lying on her side and according to the reports, the bodies of both husband and wife were badly burnt.

The bodies were viewed by District Medical Officer, Ian Furlonge, who ordered they be removed to the Forensic Sciences Centre, Port-of-Spain, where autopsies are carded for today. Visiting the scene was a party of officers including Supt Ganga, Insp Valdez and ASP Trea, who cordorned off the area leading to the house. When Newsday visited the scene, family members were busy removing household articiles and furniture from the house. Residents gathered in front the house and looked in awe at the burnt structure. Some of the residents described the Rajpauls as peaceful people who did not appear to be a couple with marital problems. On the brink of tears, Rajpaul’s brother-in-law, Innis Scope, admitted that Rajpaul and his wife were having marital problems. However, he refused to elaborate.

Scope said that it was as recent as Monday he visited the family. He told Newsday that he also spoke to Rajpaul on the phone the same night in which he counselled him about “the same problems”. Scope added: “After the conversation we had, I did not think he would do this.” He said that he last saw Gillian on Friday when she appeared “upset and sad”. However, Rajpaul’s father, when interviewed, said he did not have any clue what could have caused his son to act that way. “He was a jolly good fellow,” he added. Wiping away tears, the father who did not want to give his name, said he saw his son on Monday.

A COAST GUARD officer charged with the murder of his wife appeared yesterday before Couva Magistrate Mark Wellington.

Winston Derick Backhorie, 34, was charged with fatally stabbing Rhonda Zamora Backhorie at their home at Sanford Street West, California, on Saturday night. He was also charged with  maliciously wounding his brother-in-law Krishen Ragoonanan. Both charges were laid indictably and he was not called upon to plead. Backhorie was arrested and charged by Sgt Peter Burke after he surrendered to the Couva CID.

Dressed in a cream shirt and brown pants, Backhorie remained silent as the charges were read. He was unrepresented in court. Family members of the accused and deceased were present. Backhorie’s mother, Joan, told Newsday the family could not afford an attorney and intend to apply for legal aid. Members of the Coast Guard sat in the courtroom lending support to their colleague and offering words of comfort to Backhorie’s family. Backhorie was remanded in custody to reappear in court next Friday. Police said Backhorie holds the rank of able-bodied seaman and is based at the Coast Guard station in Scarborough, Tobago. He returned to Trinidad last week after completing his tour of duty. Backhorie and his wife have four children who are currently staying with an aunt in Mc Bean, Couva.

SUSPECTED Al Qaeda terrorist Adnan Gulshair Muhammed El Shukrijumah, who is believed to be holding a Trinidad and Tobago passport, is now living in Morocco, according to his family based in South Florida. But the TT Police are still looking out for him coming to this country, according to Head of Special Branch, Assistant Commissioner Frank Diaz yesterday.

Diaz confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) have requested assistance from the TT Police to be on the lookout for El Shukrijumah, a Saudi Arabian who may be plotting terrorist activities against the United States. “They (the FBI) never said he was in Trinidad. They asked us to be on the lookout for him,” Diaz added. According to records, El Shukrijumah came to Trinidad in 2001, just before the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC. FBI agents called a press conference in Florida on Monday to underscore the priority federal investigators have put on tracking down El Shukrijumah, who left his parents’ Florida home months before the September 11 attacks and has never returned.

El Shukrijumah is thought to be living out of the country, and federal investigators are working with police in Morocco and Trinidad searching for clues. Those countries are among several apparent stopping points for the Saudi Arabian native who, federal agents said, uses several aliases and passports. El Shukrijumah’s father Shaykh said his son left in May 2001, several months before the attacks. According to his family, the wanted man travelled frequently, selling Ismalic items and clothing. “He called us from Trinidad after it happened,” his mother Zuhrah said. “He was as surprised as any of us. I told him not to come back, that everything had changed here.” So far, no charges have been lodged against El Shukrijumah, 27, whom several captured al-Qaida leaders have identified as a key player in the network’s terror activities.

URP official and Muslimeen leader Mark Guerra, alias Abdul Jaleel, who was shot dead at Wallerfield on Sunday night will be buried at the Lapeyrouse Cemetery this afternoon after a funeral service at the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen’s headquarters at Mucurapo from 1.30 pm. A post-mortem revealed that Guerra died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Following Guerra’s murder, the police have set up Operation Clampdown in preparation for any gang war that the murder might spark. The operation took effect late Monday and immediately reaped rewards with the arrest of one man and the seizure of a stolen vehicle, a firearm and 12 rounds of .38 ammunition in the Belmont area. Police said the vehicle was recently stolen at gunpoint from a woman in St James. Operation Clampdown is being co-ordinated by Assistant Commissioners of Police (North) Celestine Richards and Oswyn Allard (Crime) and Sr Supt Gilbert Reyes. It will also consist of members of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF), under Major Ricky Garcia.  Newsday was informed that the operation will be ongoing and involves plainclothes officers from the Port-of-Spain CID, uniformed officers and other personnel.

The operation includes joint police/army activities including roadblocks, exercises and searches round the clock in the Port-of-Spain and North Eastern Divisions, with special emphasis on the St Barb’s and Vegas areas, situated in Laventille and Morvant respectively. Police said those two areas have been targetted because of the fear of gang wars over Guerra’s death. Police believe Guerra was shot and killed in reprisal for the March 16 shooting death of Neil “Big Neil” Lewis. Lewis was shot dead in his vehicle at the corner of Prince and Duncan Streets. The police are also exploring other theories. “We are looking at everything, and anything can happen,” a senior officer said. Guerra reportedly had four wives and 13 children. Officers of the Northern Division who are investigating the killing say they have made no arrests. Homicide officer Sgt Hendron Moses is continuing enquiries.

LOCAL Government Minister Jarrette Narine yesterday ducked media questions about the future of the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP) in light of the assassination of special project supervisor Mark Guerra on Sunday at Wallerfield.

Met at his Ministry at Kent House, Maraval, Narine declined to say whether the killing would cause the Government to reconsider the operation of the programme. Pointing to a copy of yesterday’s lead story in Newsday, Narine simply said: “That’s my final comment.”  In the article, Narine had said he knew Guerra had been employed last year as a co-ordinator but did not know him personally and had only heard of his death via radio. Pressed that his comments referred to just one person but not the whole programme, Narine remained mum, repeating: “That’s my final comment.”

SOME see it as a huge cruise ship. Others see a seven-tiered “Lego” building about which children dream. What is this magnificent structure revealed for all to see in the block between St Vincent, Abercromby, Queen and Hart Streets in the heart of Port-of-Spain?

It is the long-awaited National Library Complex which, in his first official act as President, George Maxwell Richards will open this evening at 6.30 pm. It cost $99 million but the cost is hardly an issue for those who have waited seven years to see it completed. The long-awaited Library Complex is finally a reality, and the large white imposing structure occupies several thousand square feet of land. Architect Colin Laird, who designed the structure, has his own way of seeing it. He described it as the “stepped back” look which he said was intentional, so the building does not block the Red House and other buildings in the vicinity.

The project has come full circle, starting under the People’s National Movement (Prime Minister Patrick Manning turned the sod in February, 1995), continuing with the United National Congress (UNC) and being completed by the PNM. Originally scheduled for completion in 22 months, the library took seven years because construction was stopped and alterations made in the design. The original plan was a four-storey structure to accommodate the needs of a modern library facility. When the UNC government took office, work was halted for over a year. It restarted in April 1998, when the plan was adjusted and the structure and its cost mushroomed after three floors were added. The floor area was increased from 180,000 to 240,000 square feet.

Woodbrook-based construction firm RK Plummer and Associates was awarded the contract as it was the lowest bidder among the seven contractors who tendered for the project. But the company’s contract was terminated in July of 1998. Commenting on this development, Works Minister at the time Sadiq Baksh said any contractor who didn’t perform well would suffer the same fate. He said everything possible would be done to ensure the project was completed “without compromising its integrity and time frame.” Financiers of the library, Republic Finance and Merchant Bank (FINCOR) had advised that termination of the contract became necessary to ensure that the project was completed in a manner consistent with the specifications of the contract.

Work was expected to resume in the latter half of 1999 and December 2000 was the target completion date. The task of finishing the multi-million dollar library went to Carillion (Caribbean) Ltd, which began clearing the site of overgrown weeds in December 1999. Construction would begin the following year. Apart from accommodating adult and children’s reading sections, the new library has a health service area and cinema. On the outside is an ampitheatre which can accommodate 500 people. Each of the four floors occupied by the National Library Information Systems has seminar rooms. Two hundred computers will be available for the public to use. The historic old Fire Service building has been incorporated into the structure to serve as a restaurant and refreshment area. The Ministry of Public Administration is renting floors 5-7 as office space.

The water supply for the library has been centralised to be away from where books are stored. Sunlight filtering through a cone located at the top of the library will provide natural lighting during the day.  A special white paint was used to prevent the building losing its clean white facade for 20 years. Chief Architect Colin Laird yesterday expressed pride at the finished structure, whose architectural style he described simply as “Trinidadian, modern.”