1 week ago
10
Former D'Abadie/O'Meara MP Lisa Morris-Julian. - ONE YEAR after the tragic fiery deaths of former D'Abadie/O'Meara MP Lisa Morris-Julian and two relatives, details of the investigative report disclosed no suspicion of foul play.
In response to questions, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander said that while he does not intend to make the report public, he will share details with the surviving family upon their request.
Alexander also said the report exonerated fire officers who responded to the emergency on December 16, 2024, at the family's home, Farfan Street, Arima.
The autopsy report said Morris-Julian and her children died from smoke inhalation.
The minister's responses were made to Newsday on December 12, four days prior to the anniversary of the fire which claimed the lives of Morris-Julian, the then minister in the Ministry of Education and her daughter Xianne Julian, 25, and son Jesiah Julian, six, at the family's Farfan Street, Arima, home.
In response to a WhatsApp message, Alexander said he had received the report in June.
“But a decision was made at the Cabinet level that the report not be made public, as we didn't want the deceased family to relive those tragic events on that unforgettable day.
“However, no suspicion or evidence of foul play was detected in the investigation.”
He reiterated this information in a later telephone interview, saying a Cabinet-level decision was made not to put the report in the public domain.
“If there was something in it that the public would have been interested in, we would have said, but there was nothing there other than the fire would have started in a particular part of the home, and the investigators were satisfied as to how the fire may have started, and unfortunately, people died therein.”
Alexander said he understood the results of the report were not shared with the fire service after the report was completed.
“The fire officers were exonerated in the investigation, as regards to allegations that were made by certain ministers in the PNM. I understand it was hidden from the fire service.
“Up to the change of government and my entering into the office, the fire service did not receive the report. I read the section that cleared them to the fire officers. I read it to them, I didn't give it to them, as we don't want it to be published as the family is trying to get on with their lives.”
Alexander said he was unable to say whether the report was shared with the family, as it was completed under the PNM before he came into office. He said the national security minister at the time was Fitzgerald Hinds, followed by Arouca/Lopinot MP Marvin Gonzales and Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland as junior minister in the ministry.
Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander on his way to Parliament. - Photo by Faith Ayoung
Asked if he would want to reach out to the family to find out if the report was shared with them, he said,
“I have no problem with that, and it might be the responsible thing to do, but I would do that only if they want me to. I will not do it unless they want me to. And I know not all families will want, they will want to try to move on with their lives and try to forget that day. It happened already, and once there was nothing, no foul play involved, all of that, then I think that family will just want to move on with their lives.”
Newsday asked Gonzales for a comment on the statement made by Alexander. His response was, “He is the Minister of Homeland Security and cannot verify whether the report was shared with the family? I cannot believe that even a simple act like this is proving to be very difficult for him.”
He declined to state whether the report was shared with the family, saying,
“I will not because I am not the Minister of National Security. He is the substantive holder of the office, and he needs to do his job.”
The former PNM administration had appointed a three-member committee, comprising Occupational Safety and Health Authority chairman Curt Cadette, former chief fire officer Roosevelt Bruce and attorney Ashtie Mahabir, to investigate the circumstances of the fire and the response by the fire service.
The committee was mandated to do a thorough review of the fire service’s response time, the availability of water supply, and assess the arrival and departure logs, to ensure timely and adequate action was taken. The investigation also aimed to address conflicting reports surrounding the cause of the fire.
Conflicting information from the fire service and the then minister of public utilities, Marvin Gonzales, emerged about the availability of water to douse the blaze. The fire service claimed there was a water shortage, but Gonzales said there was none. The Arima fire station unit also said they were responding to another call, and officers from Tunapuna responded to the fire at Farfan Street.
On January 10, 2025, the committee handed in its report to former minister of national security Fitzgerald Hinds, but the details were never made public by Hinds or his successor Gonzales.
In a telephone interview on December 13, Morris-Julian’s uncle, James Purcell, said that he was not interested in the report as he believed it would only reopen wounds and serve no purpose. However, he was aware there were family members who wanted to read it.
Asked his feelings on hearing Alexander say there was no foul play and the fire services were exonerated in the incident, Purcell said he would believe it when he saw it.
“Hearing anything from Homeland Security minister right now and nothing is the same thing, until that report is handed over to the family. Because these people are saying one thing this morning, and by the time this evening, it’s a different story.
“If it is handed over, it will be to Lisa’s husband, and it is up to him to decide to make it public. And I don’t think he will decide that on his own. I’m sure he will consult the family, especially their two surviving children and Lisa’s sisters.”
He said the family will be hosting a parang session featuring the family’s parang band on the night of the anniversary of the deaths in memory of Morris-Julian and her two children at a bar near the family’s destroyed home on Farfan Street, Arima.
“We don’t want anything solemn. We’re trying to remember them in a joyous way.”
People are welcome to go and participate."
–with reporting by Janelle de Souza
English (US) ·