Car plunges off Maracas cliff
Seven people were killed between Monday night and Tuesday evening. Six were gunned down and one became the nation’s latest road fatality. Last night, police were awaiting the arrival of a helicopter to search the cliff between Santa Cruz and Maracas Bay for victims of an accident in which a white Nissan Almera went over a precipice between Maracas and Santa Cruz yesterday. One body has been recovered. While still sketchy, information reaching Newsday is that the Almera left the Maracas Bay earlier yesterday evening, and a report was later filed of a car seen going over a cliff at about 5 pm. A body was seen floating in the sea near the area where the car disappeared. Investigators were waiting on helicopters and Coast Guard divers to conduct a search and recover operation. Police were unsure of the number of people in the car, but believe more than one person went over the precipice. In other news, a Laventille teen became murder victim number 33, and his friend has been warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital in critical condition. Dead is Sherwin McIntosh, 18, of Soogrim Trace, who was forced to lie on the ground at Mentor Alley, Laventille, and shot dead. His friend, Devy Williams, 18, also of Soogrim Trace, was also forced to lie on the ground and shot in the head. He is in critical condition at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Both men had been robbed. At about 5.30 am, Arima farmer Tony Najjarsingh shot his wife Denise dead at their Heights of Guanapo home in Arima before taking his own life with the gun. In an unrelated matter, Trou Macaque residents responded to the sound of gunfire in the area at about 1 am. When they investigated, they found the body of Kimola Adams, 21, behind his house with bullet wounds to the head. The dead man was identified by his grandmother. Police believe the shooting is gang-related. Visiting the scene were Insp Persad, Sgts Kennedy and Williams and PC Jacks of the Homicide Bureau, who are investigating. At about 8.30 pm on Monday, residents of Calvary Hill, Arima, also reported hearing gunshots. When they investigated, they found the body of Marlon Derick Jeremy, 31, of Pinto Road, lying face down in a drain with bullet wounds to the body. Investigations revealed that Jeremy, a URP labourer, had told his mother that he was going to a nearby panyard to practice, and was later seen getting into a car not long before he was killed. Jeremy’s father lives near the area where he was killed. Further investigations revealed that Jeremy, who was released from St Ann’s Hospital two weeks ago, had mental problems after the use of drugs. One of Jeremy’s brothers was shot dead in 2004, while a second brother committed suicide in 2003. A third is currently serving a nine-month jail term for firearm-related charges. Meanwhile, a Sentinel Security officer is warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital with a gunshot to the left leg in an incident in which a Diego Martin bandit was shot dead. According to reports, Sentinel Security Service estate constable Andrew Graham, of Enterprise Village, was stationed at the Plantation House Restaurant on Cornelius Street, Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, in a car opposite the business place at 9.45 pm, when he was approached by three men who announced a hold-up. A struggle ensued and Graham was shot in the leg. Graham returned fire, shooting one of the men in the chest and head. Two other bandits ran off, while the dead man was identified as Wendell St Rose, 22, of Quarry Road, Diego Martin. Police said he is a well-known bandit. St James police are investigating. Pausing to distribute property — Man kills wife, commits suicide In a fit of rage yesterday morning, an Arima farmer locked his two children in a bedroom, shot his wife dead, told his son how his property should be distributed, locked the children back in the bedroom, then shot himself dead. According to investigations, Tony Najjarsingh, 37, a chicken farmer in the Heights of Guanapo, Arima, got into an altercation with his wife Denise, 32, of the same address at about 5.30 am. Denise had planned to leave her husband. The angry man then locked his two children, ten and 14, in a bedroom, before two shots were heard. Najjarsingh then reopened the door and told his children how the property should be distributed. He also said he would not allow the police to hold him. The children were able to see their mother’s body on a bed in their parents bedroom. With gun in hand, the man locked the children in the bedroom once again. Another shot was heard about half-an-hour later. Police, contacted by the hysterical teen, broke down the door and found the couple dead in the bedroom. Denise was lying on the bed with bullet wounds to the head and chest, while Tony bore a single bullet wound to the face. His licensed firearm was found at his side. While some neighbours described the couple as cool, others spoke of years of quarrelling and fighting. No records concerning the couple were found at the Arima Police Station. When Newsday visited the chicken farm, we were ordered off the property by a burly bodyguard. Investigations revealed that the couple, who has been married for 16 years, was having marital problems, and Denise had confessed to friends beforehand that she intended to leave him the morning she was killed. One resident told Newsday that he was shocked by the killing because the Najjarsinghs were not "hand-to-mouth folks." Several residents confirmed hearing the sound of the shots from as far as a mile away, but never imagined that it would have come from that farm. The children were with a family member up to late yesterday. Visiting the scene were Snr Supt Ghany, ASP Badal, Insp Daniel, Cpl Winston, Cpl Alexis of the Arima CID and Cpl Francis of the Homicide Bureau.
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"Car plunges off Maracas cliff"