‘Killers will answer to God’

Cyril Cruickshank’s body was found by relatives under a guava tree, on the corner of Bridge Road, and Cezan Trace, in Diego Martin.

Vilma Ali, Cruickshank’s mother, told Newsday that her son, who worked with the Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), was not out to work that day.

“Cyril remembered he had to pick up a chain from a friend, and when I heard the gunshots, I knew that something was wrong,” Ali said.

She said, “They have to answer to God, and that is their problem, not mine.”

Candace Cruickshank, the victim’s sister, said that after hearing the loud explosions, she was called outside by a neighbour, and “I ran up the road and saw Cyril lying on the ground.

I tried to wake him up but I knew he was dead when I saw the blood coming out from his head,” she said.

According to police reports, at about 8.50 pm, family members of the victim heard several loud explosions and when they checked they found his body lying on the grass.

Relatives alerted the E999 Rapid Response Unit, who notified officers of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations.

A district medical officer viewed the body and ordered it removed to the Port-of-Spain Mortuary and an autopsy will be done today at the Forensic Science Centre.

Officers claimed that Cruickshank was not robbed of his valuables, and the motive of the killing is unclear.

The Homicide Bureau of Investigations is continuing the inquiry.