Source: Trinidad Express
Wednesday, January 2nd 2008
The curtains have fallen on 2007 with the homicide figure standing at a new record high of 395.
Express statistics show that up to midnight on Old Years night, three late night killings had pushed the toll near the 400 mark.
Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul, during his final weekly media briefing for 2007, which he held just after 2 p.m. on Monday, had given the figure then as 383.
This figure was reinforced by acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Gilbert Reyes, who chastised the media for reports which stated the murder figure had surpassed Homicide's official tally, thus telling the public that the toll had surpassed 2005's figure of 386-then a record toll.
"(The media figure) Might be different to mine, reasons, because some of the reports that you (media) have classed as homicides are not classified as homicides in the police service.
"Some went for Coroner's Inquest and some are still awaiting instructions from the DPP," Reyes said at a media conference on Monday afternoon at Police Administration in Port of Spain.
But figures gathered by the Express newspaper show a different story as, of December 31, the murder toll stood at 395 for the year. This toll excludes inquests, manslaughters and unclassified killings. (See Pages 7, 9, 10 & 11.)
Whether the homicide figure is being "massaged conveniently" or otherwise by the police authorities, the Express has compiled the following statistics to support its homicide toll.
The toll has surpassed the 2006 figure by 24 and is now the highest record number of homicides Trinidad and Tobago has ever seen in its history.
In 2005, the homicide figure stood at 386, while figures for the preceding years were all lower at 261 (2004), 269 (2003), 172 (2002), 151 (2001) and 120 (2000).
Earlier in 2007, Homicide had recorded 2006 as having 368 killings, but added three more in the latter quarter of the year to bring it to 371. Explanations given for the increase included the classification of the murder of businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman and autopsies which were performed on unidentified bodies found with either gunshot wounds or chops.
Despite the increase, homicide figures provided by the police for 2006 are still cloudy, since Express figures also show there were a couple unclassified killings still not listed in the toll.
This included the January 21 discovery of an unidentified man who had gunshot wounds to the head at Sandy Trace, Laventille; that of a man on October 15 in a manhole on South Quay, Port of Spain, bearing a slash wound to the neck; and the unidentified body of a man with chop wounds in Springvale, Claxton Bay, on December 20.
Unclassified killings
Unclassified killings is a term used by the Homicide department when referring to deaths which have not been classed.
When autopsies have not been performed on an unidentified body, or a cause of death following an autopsy has not been determined, they fall into this category.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a pathologist said the term "autopsy inconclusive" is a figure of speech often used by the media and police.
"If we are unable to find a cause of death, we put it as undetermined. The manner of death can also be undetermined," the pathologist said.
Citing the example of an individual falling off a building and dying, the pathologist said that individual has died from injuries sustained via the fall, "but what the autopsy does not say is whether someone pushed the individual, whether the individual slipped and fell by accident, whether the individual experienced fits and this started a series of events, or even suicide".
"In a situation like this you have a cause of death but you do not know the manner," the pathologist said.
The Waiting Period
When a body is found with gunshot, chop or other wounds and is yet to be identified, Homicide does not class this as being a murder until autopsies are performed.
Explanations often given by police as to the reason why these unclassified killings are not added to the murder figure include, "Suppose the person had a heart attack before being shot or chopped ..."
Saying a waiting period is adopted to ensure all methods of identifying the body are met, explanations such as "there is no required waiting period in which the body can be stored.." are also often given by the police.
However, a pathologist, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: "Normally when there is an unnatural death, the waiting period is three to nine months (before an autopsy is conducted).
"The waiting period varies depending on the likelihood of the bodies being identified. Usually, the waiting period also depends on the police, but a problem arises when we have all these bodies and no space."
Noting that there is also a problem with storage space at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, the pathologist said the autopsies are performed on unidentified bodies, which are then labelled as "John or Jane Doe" and buried by the State.
On January 10, the unidentified body of a man of East Indian descent was found over a precipice along the North Coast Road, Maracas, with stab wounds. Sources said a waiting period of nine months passed before an autopsy performed. Death, it was found in this case, was due to a punctured lungs consistent with stab wounds. However, checks with Homicide reveal this killing was not added to the police's official listing.
For 2007, nine bodies (unidentified) were found bearing chop or gunshot wounds, while autopsies on the bodies of three people were undetermined, although the victims' bodies bore marks of violence.
Sources at Forensics said: "We try not to let autopsies on unidentified bodies go into a new year."
However, although an autopsy on the body of Jacqueline Joseph Adams was undetermined on June 17, a man was subsequently charged with her killing.
Adams, 38, of Puerto Grande Beach Road, Erin, had been missing since March 30 and her remains were found at Petrotrin Field Road, Erin. Her death was listed on Homicide's official figure.
On March 2, the body Angelo Mendoza, 40, a US deportee of Lily
Trace, Siparia, was found with marks of violence on Central Road, Los Bajos, Santa Flora; on April 15, the body of John "Wad" Vidale was found on Spaniol Road, Diego Martin, bearing several marks of violence; and on October 22, Hollis Thomas, a 70-year -old pensioner of Duff Trace, St Croix Road, Princes Town, collapsed outside a supermarket after complaining of feeling unwell on October 21.
Eyewitnesses thought Thomas suffered a heart attack, but an autopsy performed revealed Thomas died of severe injuries to the neck, chest and abdomen, including a broken rib cage and lacerations to his liver.
Then there was the April 24 killing of tailor Dhanraj Bowlah.
Bowlah, 32, of Ajodha Road, Cunupia, went missing from his home and was found bound and gagged in the Arena River, San Rapheal, Arima.
An autopsy failed to determine the cause of his death, but a man is before the courts charged with the killing and Bowlah, whose killing was listed on the official homicide figure.
The list goes on about questionable deaths and autopsies which are performed on the victims which proved they died on unnatural causes. However, these results are not reflected on the official Homicide figure being purported by those in authority.
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