GERMAN'S BODY IN SHALLOW GRAVE

The discovery of the German national on Sunday capped off a very busy period of 48 hours between Sunday and yesterday, for police and undertakers, with nine persons including a three- year-old child, dying in unnatural circumstances in various parts of the country.

Police made the gruesome discovery at about 6 pm after they were alerted by the victim’s friends who became concerned for his safety when several calls to his cellular phone went unanswered. Police said that Taut’s life was recently threatened.

Police sources said the victim’s hands were bound behind his back, his feet were also bound and he was gagged with duct tape. Taut was last seen alive at about 6 pm on Saturday. Taut’s home is in the same neighbourhood where British couple Peter and Murium Greene were attacked and brutally chopped in the porch of their vacation home by an intruder, on August 1.

Tobagonian Clint Alexis has been charged with attempting to murder the Greenes who are originally from Wellington in the UK.

Taut’s house which is located about 100 metres from the Greenes’ home, is surrounded by large trees and heavy foliage, making it almost completely invisible from the roadway except for the entrance to the house.

Yesterday, forensic investigators revisited the scene as they continued to search for clues. The area surrounding the house including the road at the front of the house, was cordoned off with yellow police ‘crime scene’ tape.

Taut was said to be an engineer living in Tobago periodically for the past five years. After the body was unearthed from the shallow grave, under police supervision, it was viewed by District Medical Officer Dr Mentor Melville who ordered its removal to the Scarborough Hospital mortuary.

Police sources said that this is the 11th murder in Tobago this year. Homicide detectives and officers of the Scarborough CID are continuing investigations.

Between Sunday and yesterday, at least nine persons have died in unnatural circumstances including the discovery of the German national’s body being found in Tobago, a three-year-old boy being electrocuted (see story below), four men dropping dead after drinking homemade wine laced with poison (see page 5); a double-murder in Toco (see page 5) and a limer being shot and killed at Los Iros beach in South Trinidad (see page 4).