Two shot dead in South

Southern Homicide detectives are investigating two separate murders yesterday, in which the victims were killed by a single gunshot wound. However, only one of the victims, Bernard Padilla, 39, a craftsman of Wharton Road number 1 in Palo Seco, was identified. Up to late yesterday, the identity of the other man, whose body was found in a bamboo patch at La Ruffin Road in Moruga, was still unknown. Investigators believe Padilla was murdered because of a drug deal gone sour. A mere six hours before he was killed, police said a man jumped out of a car with a cutlass and chased Padilla through Wharton Street, threatening to kill him.

Padilla’s friends were able to subdue the man who returned to the car and sped off. Around 1.45 am yesterday, Padilla was sitting in the road gambling when a gunman wearing a ski-mask and clad in a camouflage jacket, pants and army boots approached the group of men and fired four shots. Padilla ran a short distance away before a bullet struck him in his back and exited through his chest. The wounded man collapsed in some bushes in a resident’s yard where he died. The gunman then ran off. Newsday understands Padilla, described by police as a gambler, had a previous conviction for robbery.

Padilla’s mother, Dorothy, 83, said she had no idea why anyone would want to kill her son. She said he had no children and earned an income by making and selling straw mats. Investigations are continuing. In the other incident, reports stated that shortly after 11 am, the body of an East Indian man believed to be in his 30s was found by four men returning from the beach. The body bore a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. His hands were bound behind his back with a shoelace. Police believe the deceased was killed elsewhere. 

The victim, of brown complexion and sporting a front upper gold tooth, was clad in a brown jersey, a blue denim pants, and socks. His shoes were missing and he had no wallet. Police sources said the body was removed without being examined by a DMO because the doctor had car problems. Both bodies were taken to the Forensic Sciences Centre in St James, where autopsies were expected to be performed yesterday.