7 hours ago
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Senior Reporter
Senior police officers investigating the Belmont triple murder that saw a 23-month-old toddler killed say the killing is not linked to the quadruple murder three weeks ago in Morvant that saw another child murdered.
Officers close to the investigation yesterday revealed that their inquiries since the incident had led them to conclude that the two mass killings were not linked to each other, and they were moving forward with information they had since received. They, however, refused to disclose further details.
Yesterday, members of the Homicide Bureau returned to Belmont seeking to compile more information to help them solve the murders. They handed out flyers, calling on residents to step up and assist them in their probe.
Guardian Media was in the community and saw the officers also placing the flyers in mailboxes, under windshield wipers and giving them to residents.
The flyers read: “Enough is Enough. Do Something now!! We want to help you. Time to put a stop to crime.”
Aqiyl “Fats” Kafi, 30, and Anthony “Monster” Wilson, 28, were killed after gunmen ambushed the car they were travelling in along Upper St Francois Valley Road around 8.35 am on May 7. Kafi’s toddler son Akini Kafi was declared dead at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital moments later, while his mother, Antonia Cain-Kafi, 36, remains warded in a stable condition.
On April 19, nine-year-old J’layna Armstrong was one of four people shot and killed when gunmen ambushed a car she was travelling in along the Lady Young Road in Morvant.
During his contribution in Parliament last Friday, Defence Minister Wayne Sturge said the two incidents were linked.
He said then: “I’m sure he (MP for the area Stuart Young) knows that the murders yesterday (April 7) are connected to the murders in Lady Young, the quadruple murder. It’s connected. And we know where they are from. We know, we’ve seen all the wakes and all the crying. We know Belle Eau Road is in play. We know Serrano Road is in play.”
However, Port-of-Spain North/St Ann’s West Member of Parliament Stuart Young challenged Sturge’s claims and defended his constituents then, saying, “I state here this evening, I have no idea and no clue who are the criminal elements that perpetrated this heinous crime. I do not know those criminal elements and I’ve never interacted with them.”
Asked about Sturge’s revelation on Saturday, however, Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro said he could not speak to any connection.
“I will not be able to confirm that connection for you at this time. The police service is undertaking an investigation, and I wouldn’t want to share too much of that information with the public,” Guevarro said.
Pressed further, given that Sturge’s comments seemed to come from the police, Guevarro added: “It is not my responsibility to speak after the minister.”
During the TTPS Sports and Family Day on Saturday, Guevarro also encouraged Belmont residents to assist the police with the probe, as he admonished those who harbour their criminally minded relatives.
“It is your sons, brothers, your family, you know that they are in possession of illegal weapons and they are committing these heinous crimes and you are remaining silent. That in itself is an indictment on society and how we should approach, how we deal with criminality in going forward,” Guevarro said.
Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander also said communities need to step forward and assist police in solving crimes.
Contacted yesterday on the police’s latest claim that the two incidents were not related, however, Sturge told Guardian Media he is standing by his statement.
“That might explain why detection rates have been historically low, and conviction rates are even lower. As a former criminal defence attorney, my position is that until I see credible evidence to the contrary, backed up by charges laid, I will maintain what I said in the Parliament and which is based on the intelligence on the ground. Small wonder why conviction rates in gang- related matters, and under Anti-Gang Act in particular, is closer to zero,” Sturge said.
Grandmom:
Anthony killed for refusing to join gang
Anthony “Monster” Wilson’s grandmother, Joan Wilson, says the answer to the crime woes lies in divine intervention.
“These young people need God in their lives,” she said, adding that politicians offer no help in solving crime.
“The Government is a waste of time. Both sides! Because when is election you will see them and after that, you won’t see them or you don’t hear them for the next five years.”
Despite police saying that Wilson was the intended target, the 75-year-old said her grandson was not a criminal and had no criminal history. She said he got the name “Monster” as a child, after a friend jokingly said he smelled like one because of his reluctance to bathe regularly. And while the name stuck, she was not fond of him responding to it because of the negative connotations.
Contrary to other claims, she said her grandson was killed because of his refusal to join a gang.
“A lot of things that we didn’t stand for, it had people that were against us because we didn’t stand for the nonsense. That is the type of person Anthony was. He didn’t stand for the nonsense,” she said.
She said Wilson would tell them he had his family living in the area and did not want to expose them to any criminal activity. The family, for the most part, she said, kept to themselves.
While the police were hoping to get information from the residents, Wilson’s mother, Petra Wilson, is calling on the police to do more.
“I would let them know what going on. They need to do their wuk, yuh understand. Because if they had do they wuk, my son would have been alive.”
She said since the killing, she has been unable to sleep and is now hoping to bury her only son soon.
While police were canvassing St Francois Valley Road, hoping for assistance, one resident, who did not want to be identified, said Belmont is not a bad place and like other areas, would have spikes in crimes from time to time. The woman said more needs to be done to address crime.
“How much can the Government do and how much can the police do in terms of crime? It starts in the home right? At the end of the day, it starts in the home. The younger generation coming up right now is quite different from what we had to deal with.”
She added that it seemed no one is able to get through to the youth and speak to them about not involving themselves in criminal activities.
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