Following an argument, a couple jumped 25 feet over a cliff overhanging the Gran Couva river; the woman was able to make her way out of the water, but her 27-year-old common-law husband hit his head on a rock in the shallow water and died.

According to reports, his 24-year-old wife Vashti Ramsaran jumped into the river first and shortly after Rakesh “Bobby” Rampersad jumped in after her. Sitting on the river bank crying and screaming, Ramsaran looked on as relatives dragged the dead body of her husband, out of the knee-high water on Friday night. Miraculously Ramsaran, who has two children from a previous relationship, escaped with abrasions about her body and has since been staying with relatives at Chandernagore Village, Carapichaima.

According to Rampersad’s distraught mother, Nardaye, her daughter-in-law had jumped into the river at the back of her (Nardaye) house, following an argument with her son. Sitting on a chair at her home at San Pedro Road, Gran Couva, Nardaye told Sunday Newsday that Ramsaran and her son had been living together in a small wooden house opposite her (Nardaye) house for the past three months. She said that the couple had been in high spirits before the tragedy, but she was shocked that her son would jump into a shallow river. “I don’t feel my child jumped in there. Bobby had plenty skills, he was a climber, he knew the river very well,” she lamented. Recalling the events leading up to the tragedy, she said her son was not home when Ramsaran’s two relatives came to their home. She said her daughter-in-law went out with her relatives and returned half hour later.

She recalled when Rampersad came home, he accompanied his father, Samaroo Ramlogan, 49, to a nearby bar. When Ramsaran’s relatives left around 9.30 pm, the couple began arguing, and Ramsaran said she wanted to go by a relative. Nardaye said her son told his wife that she was in no condition to leave. On the brink of tears, the mother of seven said she took Ramsaran outside to clear her head but she pulled away from her and started running in the direction of the river. She said Rampersad ran after her and caught her before she got to the cliff. Rampersad took her back to their home and left her there. Nardaye recalled that her son was lying in the back of her house when Ramsaran called him to go home. But Rampersad did not answer. Eventually, Ramsaran called a neighbour and her son to help her carry her husband in the house but they didn’t help her.

With tears in her eyes, Nardaye said: “Around 10 pm, I heard a splash and then I heard the boy say, ‘Call the ambulance, Vashti jump in the river and Bobby jump in after her’.” Nardaye said when her husband heard the commotion and ran down to the river, he found Ramsaran crying on the bank. In the dark, Ramlogan searched through the water until he found his son who was already dead. Ramlogan tried to resuscitate him but it was too late. “My son did not have to die that way,” the woman cried. However, police sources told Sunday Newsday that they were awaiting the results of an autopsy scheduled for tomorrow at the Forensic Sciences Centre. Visiting the scene was DMO Dr Ray Choudarie and a party of officers from the Gran Couva Police and Couva CID including Sgt Edward Lomie, Cpl Wiggins,  PCs Branson John and Mohammed. The latter is continuing investigations.

ARMY and police officers stormed a Laventille house Friday evening and rescued a Belmont woman who had earlier been abducted in San Juan.

The Laventille man has since been charged with kidnapping and assaulting the 40-year-old woman.  He is due to appear before a Port-of-Spain magistrate tomorrow. Charges were laid by Ag Cpl James of the Barataria/El Socorro Criminal Investigations Department. According to police, Francine Burnett, of St Francois Valley Road, was walking along Boundary Road, San Juan, around 5.30 pm Friday. North Eastern Division police said a man from Picton Road, Laventille approached Burnett, placed a knife to her throat then forced her into a vehicle against her will.

Police said the man drove Burnett to a house at Picton Road, Laventille, where he reportedly began to beat her.  Army and police officers from the Inter-Agency Task Force who were at the time patrolling the area heard the woman’s screams and subsequently stormed the house. They rescued the woman and arrested the man. The woman was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for medical attention. The man was first taken to the Besson Street Police Station, after which he was transported to the Barataria Station, the area of the abduction.

A BELIZE national was knocked down and killed Friday night and officers of the Woodbrook Police Station were up to late evening looking for the driver, who reportedly fled the scene of the accident.

Police identified the dead man as Hugh Eley, 66, of Duke Street, Port-of-Spain. Another man, Lou Sou Chang, an employee of Hong Kong City Restaurant, had both his legs broken in another accident early yesterday. In the road fatality, police sources told Sunday Newsday that Eley was attempting to cross Wrightson Road from north to south near Carlos Street. A white car travelling in an easternly direction along Wrightson Road subsequently struck Eley, who died on the spot. The driver failed to stop.

A report was made and a party of officers, under Cpl Brown of the Woodbrook Police Station, visited the scene and are continuing investigations. Around 3.45 am yesterday, police said Chang, of St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain, was offloading goods from his vehicle at Maraval and Tragarete Road when a B13 Nissan Sentra, driven by a man, ran into the back of Chang’s vehicle, leaving Chang with both his legs broken.  PC Ramirez of the Woodbrook Police Station is continuing investigations.

AN ARIMA businessman was robbed of his gun, while a Petit Valley woman was relieved of a gold Honda Civic vehicle valued at $102,000.

Businessman Frank Hosten lost his firearm after two men armed with cutlasses ambushed him at his Trincity home around 11.30 pm on Friday. Hosten, 41, had just returned home, police said.  He is the proprietor of Cool Connections Limited, Arima. No arrests had been made up to late yesterday evening and PC Hernandez of the Arouca Criminal Investigations Department is continuing investigations.

In the other robbery incident, Western Division police said Venezuelan-born Yanett Lynch, 40, was driving along Leo Bass Avenue, Petit Valley, around 9.15 pm on Friday when, police said, three men — two armed with guns — ambushed her as she was about to alight from the Honda Civic vehicle, owned by someone else. Lynch, who has been living in Trinidad for the past ten years was then relieved of the vehicle and as the bandits escaped with the car, they told her: “Don’t look back.” A report was made and a party of officers from the Four Roads CID under Ag Cpl Babb and including PCs Joseph and Chadee visited the scene. Police suspect that Lynch was followed.  No arrests had been made up to late evening. 

JOANNA WALKER’S dre-ams of playing and excelling in basketball ended with a single bullet from a heartless person, Shinelle Samaroo, her classmate, said yesterday as she delivered the eulogy at Walker’s funeral service held at Simpson’s Funeral Chapel, Eastern Main Road, Laventille.

“A single bullet ended it (her dreams). A heartless person came and took you away from us,” said Samaroo, who managed to hold back the tears during the eulogy, adding that Walker had played netball for her old school, St Barb’s Government. She continued that Walker, of Mentor Alley, Laventille, was known as the “tall girl” in the class (Form 1C at Mucurapo Junior Secondary School). Samaroo said Walker, 13, was not known to get involved in quarrels, was a person who never got angry and was not afraid to tell anyone when they were wrong. She also described Walker as a “big sister” to many children, some of whom lost their parents.  She said also that the deceased girl was a gift to her parents, Ancil Skinner and Marilyn Walker-Skinner, parents of six children, Joanna being the last.

After giving the eulogy, Samaroo walked slowly back to her seat where she sat and let the tears flow.  Before the eulogy, the young and petite girl was seen crying and wiping her tears with a blue rag. Another female student sang Celine Dion’s “Because You Love Me” after which about a dozen uniformed students from the Mucurapo Junior Secondary School formed a semi-circle around Walker’s baby pink coffin. Walker had stepped outside her home Monday night to get a breath of fresh air when she was caught in the line of fire of two men who were reportedly trying to gun down a Muslim man. Relatives told Sunday Newsday that Walker decided to go outside after she lost a game of All Fours.  She was playing the game with other siblings.  She was shot once and died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Walker was one of two people shot, the other being Adeola Graham, a 21-year-old hairdresser.  Graham’s friend, Giselle Bobb, 22, was grazed by a bullet. Police, on instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson, have since charged a 22-year-old Laventille man with Walker’s murder, and the attempted murder of Graham, as well as firearm-related offences.  He was charged by Cpl Steve Sookdeo of the Besson Street CID. Walker’s death brought to 15 the number of teenagers killed for the year.  Of the 15, 12  have been shot while the other three were stabbed.  Seven people have been charged in the 15 killings thus far. Walker was laid to rest at the Tunapuna Public Cemetery.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning made it clear to the Diego Martin and PoS constituencies on Friday that the three principles underlying the choices for Mayors, Chairmen and aldermen for the nine PNM-controlled Local Gov-ernment bodies would be age, ethnic balance and management competence.

As the party seeks to reflect these criteria, several names emerged yesterday as the leaders for the various councils. Sources said former NAR Minister Jennifer Johnson is one of two candidates shortlisted to become San Fern-ando’s new Mayor. The other nominee is Imtaz Ahamad, chairman of the South West Regio-nal Health Authority. Sources said yesterday however that Ahamad was not interested in the position and that Johnson, who had been steadfast in her support for the party for several years, was likely to get the nod.

In Port-of-Spain, the choice is between the young 35-year-old Joel London and the incumbent Murchison Brown. London, a human resource analyst employed at TSTT, holds a management degree and is also a second-year law student. If  the dreadlocked but soft spoken and deeply religious London is selected, it would represent a major turnaround for the party, having chosen older members for the top post in the capital city. Sources said that the Port-of-Spain constituencies, which meet the screening committee on Friday afternoon, presented Brown and Noreen Fergurson as the two aldermen. However they were sent back by the screening committee. Sources said Rishi Lakhan is likely to remain as deputy Mayor.

Businessman Steve Castagne is favoured by the screening committee to become Chairman of the Diego Martin Regional Corp-oration. Sources said that the Diego Martin constituencies, which were also sent back by the screening committee, were united in their determination not to return attorney at law Bridgit Annisette-George.  They suggested Lindon George as a possible alderman. But the screening committee had other ideas. Sources said that Prime Minister Patrick Manning, as chairman of the screening committee met with constituencies to hear their recommendations. Sources said that Manning in seeking to guide constituencies, suggested that serious consideration would be giving to young persons because a lot of young people supported the PNM. He also said that another major criteria would be ethnic background because of the continuing necessity for the party to achieve cross-ethnic appeal and representation. He also said that in view of the greater autonomy and responsibility that Local Government bodies were likely to get, persons with demonstrated management competence would be preferred. He cited knowledge in areas such as administration, law, finance and business.

Former Ambassador to Brazil, Surujrattan Rambachan, is to be the new Mayor of Chaguanas, replacing Orlando Nagessar, sources told Sunday Newsday.

Furthermore, NAR leader Lennox Sankersingh is to be appointed an alderman of the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, of which he will be vice-chairman. These decisions were made yesterday morning at a meeting of the UNC strategy committee at Rienzi Complex, Couva. Rambachan had served as an Ambassador under the NAR Government and as a university lecturer in management, and currently works as a morning announcer at Radio 106 FM. Sources say Rambachan was selected to be Mayor over Nagessar because the UNC is seeking high-profile personalities to serve in their corporations to help build back the party.