BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AFTER taking comfort in a relative lull, citizens awoke to news that yet another murder has taken place in the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Dead is Gregory ‘Buckey’ Fleming, said to be in his 40s, who resided in Verchilds; the Federation’s 26th murder for the year.
A source close to this media house explained that Fleming was reportedly on his way home when he was shot. The source further explained that his girlfriend, with whom he lived, after noticing that he did not return home by a specific time, contacted his brother and sister to inquire of his whereabouts.
That, the source continued, was when they launched a search which resulted in them finding his lifeless body on the Verchilds High School's grounds.
After attempts to contact the Police PRO Inspector Vaughan Henderson failed, SKNVibes contacted Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for Crime (ACP Crime) Joseph Liburd, who confirmed that the incident did take place and indicated that it occurred sometime after 11:00 p.m.
He said the police received reports and after responding, began processing the crime scene.
The Crime ACP was unable to provide further details concerning the incident but indicated that the police are making investigations into the matter.
Interestingly, however, he noted that the preliminary inquiry (PI) into a case in which Fleming is the virtual complainant (VC), was to have begun sometime next week. The inquiry stems from a September 9, 2009 incident in which he and his girlfriend were reportedly shot after their home was set on fire.
According to a previous interview with then Police Press and Public Relations Officer, Inspector Cromwell Henry, sometime after 3:00 on that morning police responded to a report of a shooting in Verchilds and, during their investigations, they discovered that both victims were in their home when “an individual set fire to the house”.
Henry further explained that according to reports, Fleming ran from the inside to the outside of the house and was shot in the hand and abdomen while his girlfriend, who was reportedly still inside the home, was shot in the arm.
A suspect was said to have been taken into custody and was assisting with investigations.
While he did not indicate whether or not Fleming’s murder and the previous incident are related, ACP Liburd said the police are using “this and every other lead” to assist them in solving the crime.
He appealed to members of the public who may have information relative to Fleming’s murder to contact the Old Road Police Station at 465-6250 or the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at 465-2241 ext 230. He reiterated that information could be given on condition of anonymity and the strictest confidence would be applied in the handling of such information.
