BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FAMILY members of the late Trevor Douglas claim that they are dissatisfied with the treatment received from the police, the manner in which the investigation is being conducted and that there are more questions than answers into the cause of his death.
Douglas, who was laid to rest at the St. Paul's Parish Cemetery on Friday (Apr. 5), was discovered dead between two buildings on Central Market Street, Basseterre in the vicinity of Jenkins Funeral Home on Wednesday, March 27.
Speaking with this media house, Douglas’ brother, Ricky Rouphine, and two other siblings said they are at their wits end in bringing to a closure the circumstances surrounding his death.
However, an investigation conducted by this media house revealed that shortly before 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, the former Bobo Dread member of St. Paul’s Village but who was residing at the time with his children and their mother at Shear Lane in Basseterre, allegedly smashed the front windscreen and the two right windows of a silver-gray Toyota pickup.
The pickup was parked on Victoria Road opposite the Star of India Restaurant and Douglas allegedly smashed the windows and windscreen with a hammer, which was said to have been found on the ground next to his body when it was discovered.
It was also revealed that whilst carrying out his destructive actions, he was approached by a group of persons and he jumped the eastern fence of the Anglican Church in his bid to escape.
He allegedly ran along the grounds of the Anglican Church and scaled the wall on the western side, landed on College Street Ghaut, ran in a southern direction along that street, turned west onto Cayon Street then south into Central Market Street.
It was further revealed that during his bid to escape, a single shot rang out and it is suspected that he was hit in the back whilst running in College Street Ghaut.
SKNVibes spoke with a number of persons who, on condition of anonymity, claimed to have heard the report of gunfire at approximately 12:45 a.m. and a male voice saying, “A think a hit him.”
When contacted, Police Press and Public Relations Officer, Inspector Lyndon David confirmed that an autopsy was performed on Douglas’ remains, but declared that he could not say if or when the results would be made public because the matter is still under investigation.
Contrary to his statement, it was customary for the Police Public Relations Department to inform the public, via the media through press releases, of the findings of autopsies pertaining to deaths under their investigation in a timely manner.
Asked if the investigation is of an internal nature, David said he did understand the question and the reason for it being asked.
The PRO however stated that he was unaware of any internal investigation, but the police are investigating to find out “what caused the death of the young man”.
Douglas’ siblings claimed to have heard a similar a story but noted it is rumoured that the group of persons who approached him were police officers.
They also claimed to have heard that shortly after their brother was shot, a number of police officers had visited Shamari’s Fish Shop on Upper Market Street, where they met a group of men whom they asked if they had seen a man running in that area, to which they got a negative reply.
Douglas’ children mother also had her say on the matter. She said that at approximately 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday (Mar. 27) she heard a loud rapping on her wooden gate.
“I opened the window and saw three police officers. I asked them what they wanted and one of them asked me if Trevor was at home. I told them that he was not and asked, ‘What you all looking for him for?’ and the heavy-set officer who was wearing a T-shirt marked Crime Scene Technician said, ‘I can’t tell you.’ I then asked them what happened to him, but they did not respond.
“The three of them left and returned 20 minutes after with two more officers including a female. They told me that they had a warrant to search my home. So I went to the gate, slightly opened it and asked them to show me the warrant. But one of the officers pushed the gate widely open, rushed past me and barged into the house. I went behind him and so did the other officers.
“They searched in my bedroom, under the beds and all other parts of the house before opening my backdoor and going outside to search under the house and the empty adjoining lot. I again asked them why they were searching for Trevor and I received the same answer they had earlier given me.”
The young woman said that Douglas was a carpenter and shortly before six O’clock on Tuesday (Mar. 26) was the last time she saw him alive. She claimed that on his arrival home she had asked him if he was paid and he responded in the positive. But when asked for money to run the home for the week, he said that he first had to pay the workers and on his return home she would have gotten hers.
“But he did not return,” she solemnly added.
She said that later that morning after the police had unlawfully entered her home, she left for work and at 10:45 and was told by a female friend that a body was found in Central Market Street and it was believed to be that of her children’s father.
She subsequently left her place of work for the area where Douglas’ body was discovered but she did not get to see him, so she went to the Basseterre Police Station and was directed to the Criminal Investigations Department, where she met one Corporal (CPL) Morton.
“I was not certain that the body they found was Trevor, so I decided to ask CPL Morton about it but he had me seated there for a very long time and could not provide a positive answer until Trevor’s brothers and sister arrived.”
Douglas’ siblings confirmed that they met his children’s mother at the Basseterre Police Station.
They claimed that they were at Jenkins Funeral Home and had wanted to see the body to ascertain it was their brother, but were told they could not. However, the sister said that after speaking with a female, whom she suspected to be a police officer, she was handed a cellular phone and the person at the other end said he was CPL Morton and invited her to the station.
“When we got there, CPL Morton invited us to enter the CID office and told us to wait until the Superintendent arrives. We met my brother’s girlfriend there and we were sitting for about one and a half hours waiting for the Superintendent. During that time we asked CPL Morton if we could see the body in order to make a positive identification. But he told us that we could not.
“While waiting in the office, two men entered in civilian clothing. They whispered something to Morton and they went outside. CPL Morton returned and told us that one of the two men was the Superintendent and that we would not be able to see the body because the matter was still under investigation and that they had positively identified him from fingerprints they have and also by an identification card found on his person.
“He also told us that we would get an opportunity to view the body when the post mortem is being done.”
Rouphine said the post mortem was done on Good Friday (Mar. 29) and that before it was performed they were invited to view the body.
“My sister-in-law went into the mortuary and viewed the body but none of us was allowed to witness the post mortem. We asked the police about the findings and they told us that a copy of the death certificate would be given to the funeral home. Again we were surprised by the police’s action. We however asked one of the undertakers what caused our brother’s death and were told that he died from shock and haemorrhage due to a gunshot injury.
“It was not until the body was handed over to us that we realised the rumour to be true. He was indeed shot in the back. He was shot in the back just below the left shoulder.”
Following this revelation, Rouphine said he and his two siblings visited the Commissioner of Police with the aim of finding out why their brother was shot.
“We went to the Basseterre Police Station and requested audience with the Commissioner of Police concerning our brother’s death. He spoke with us and when asked what were the police’s findings, he said that it was an active investigation and he could not give us any information. He however stated that we could go and speak to his Deputy or Mr. Queeley.
“We had found his suggestion to be very strange. Because, as the head of the Police Force, why would you send someone to speak to your subordinates on a matter of that nature. It would have been most appropriate if we were told by his Deputy or Mr. Queeley to speak to the Commissioner, not the other way around.”
Rouphine said he and other family members are of the view that the truth is being hidden for some unknown reason and they are asking the following questions:
1. “If it were a fact that our brother had damaged the vehicle and was confronted by police officers, why did they shoot him in the back?
2. “It is rumoured that he was shot by the police but they have neither admitted nor denied doing so. Therefore, if they did not shoot him why did they visit his girlfriend’s home in search of him hours after he was shot? And why did they allegedly ask the people at Shamari if they had seen a man running in that area?
3. “Let’s suppose the police had shot him. What defence would they have for shooting him in the back? Were they under attack? If he had attacked them, wouldn’t it have been that they would have shot him to the front of his body?
4. “If it’s not the police who shot him, then who?
5. “When the reporter asked the PRO for the findings of the post mortem, why did he not provide it but said the matter was under investigation?
6. “When the reporter asked if the investigation is an internal one, why did the PRO say he was unaware of any internal investigation, but the police are investigating to find out “what caused the death of the young man” when he knew that our brother was shot in the back?
7. “If it were a fact that the police had shot our brother, why would the investigation be done by police officers? This is a case of trying the devil in hell!
8. “Conclusively, it appears that, given the lack of response from the police, something is not adding up. Therefore, why is the investigation not being done by a body not affiliated with the police?”
When Douglas’ body was handed over to the family, one member took a number of pictures and offered a few of them to this media house, noting that “we want the public to see where he was shot and to ask them if they would have been satisfied with the police’s explanation”.
The body of 34-year-old Trevor Douglas was laid to rest last Friday afternoon, and among those left to mourn his passing are his two children, including a four-month-old girl.
Meanwhile, on Friday (Apr. 5) a police press release stated that an autopsy was performed on Douglas’ body by pathologist Dr. Stephen Jones.
“The results revealed that Trevor Douglas' death was caused to haemorrhage and shock due to gunshot injury. The circumstances surrounding his death is still unclear, and investigation is ongoing.
“Anyone with any information are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477-(TIPS). Remember you don't have to provide your name or address and you may be eligible for monetary reward,” the release read.
A source close to the police informed this media house that on the morning in question, police received a report that a man was smashing the windows of a vehicle on Wellington Road.
The source said that police responded and saw an individual committing the act and when they approached him he jumped over the fence of the Anglican Church and ran. The police, in response, gave chase and met him in College Street Ghaut, but when they approached to arrest him he started throwing rocks at them and made good his escape.
The source further said that the police did not know the direction in which the man ran when they got unto Cayon Street, but they were stopped by a taxi driver who enquired if they were in search of someone.
“They answered in the positive and the taxi driver told the officers that he had just seen a man in the vicinity of Greenlands running at a very fast pace heading in the direction of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College. The officers conducted a search of the general area but did not locate the unidentified man,” the source said.
The source also said that initial investigations revealed that no trace of blood was seen in College Street Ghaut, Cayon or in Central Market Street.
“The only place where the investigators had found blood was the area within which the body was found later that morning. And it is my belief that the Commissioner does not want to make any pronouncement because the matter is currently under investigation,” the source added.
