BROTHER KILLS SISTER

The incident occurred at about 5.30 pm in a small, sleepy neighbourhood along Providence Road, just outside Mt Grace/Whim on the northern outskirts of Scarborough. The victims have been identified as Charmaine Phillip, 50, and Winston Phillip, 54.

While police were yet to establish a motive for the murder/suicide sources told Newsday Winston had been exhibiting strange behaviour within recent times prompting investigators to surmise that he may have had mental problems.

According to a police report, Charmaine who worked as a housekeeper in Mt Irvine, was at home with her 11-year-old son, at the time preparing dinner. At about 5.30 pm, her brother Winston entered the house telling his nephew (Charmaine’s son) he did not want him inside the house and to go out in the yard.

The boy later told police he soon heard his uncle arguing with his mother and he pushed a door to the house slightly open and peered inside. The boy, according to police sources, saw his uncle repeatedly stab his mother in her stomach with a knife.

He ran screaming to a neighbour’s house shouting, “help, help, uncle stabbing meh mammy!”, a police source told Newsday. At the same time, Charmaine was screaming for help inside her house. Police said she cried out six times, “Oh God, all you help me!” Her screams soon ceased and there was silence in the house.

Police said Winston proceeded to lock his sister’s house and calmly walked over to his own home which is situated near to Charmaine’s house. A call was made to the police and officers who arrived, found Charmaine’s bloodstained body on the ground in her house. The officers cautiously went to Winston’s house where they found him barely alive on the ground. Next to his body was a bottle which contained a poisonous substance.

Winston was taken to the Scarborough Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Yesterday, both the brother’s and sister’s houses were locked tight and the whereabouts of Charimaine’s son were not known. Detective WPC Stacy-Ann Henry-Charles of the Tobago Homicide Investigations Bureau, is continuing investigations.

The last murder/suicide to rock Tobago took place on Tuesday December 11, 2012 when Belinda Solomon-Sobers, 36, was chopped by her lover Daniel Benjamin, 56, who later committed suicide

by ingesting a poisonous substance.

This murder/suicide took place in Orchid Lane, Coral Gardens, Buccoo.