 |
Michael
Yearwood |
Three persons
have been detained by police for questioning in connection with
the murder last Thursday night of 30-year old Michael Yearwood
of Grand Mal, St. George's.
Yearwood
died from a single gun shot wound to the head in an incident
which police believe is drug-related. Speculation is rife that
he was lured to the Bailles Ground near to the Grenada Yacht
Services (GYS) in the Lagoon where he was assassinated.
A police
source told this newspaper that Yearwood was found seated behind
the steering wheel of his white Toyota Sprinter car and that
the engine was still running. His face was said to be full of
blood and almost not recognisable.
Residents
in the area reported hearing a gun shot on Thursday night sometime
after 9.00 p.m in the vicinity of the area where the body was
later discovered. There are unconfirmed reports that a large
sum of money (approximately EC$16, 000) and a gold chain were
taken away from Yearwood by his attackers.
The
deceased is the son of well-known tourist vendor Bernadette
Yearwood and her husband Tommo Yearwood, who worked on the St.
George's Port for many years. Sources inside the underworld
of drugs on the island said that Yearwood had emerged in recent
months as one of the key players in the illegal drug trade in
Grenada.He
is reported to have had substantial foreign connections in the
illegal drug trade.
The distraught
mother told GRENADA TODAY that she had made several attempts
over the years to get her son to turn away from the bad side
of life. She said it was as a result of his activities that
she asked him to leave the family house at Grand Mal and he
moved over to New Hampshire to live in a house owned by one
of his aunts.
Despite
of this, Yearwood did not forsake his parents and visited their
home on a regular basis. According to the mother, she attempted
to help her son to live an honest and dignified life by giving
him assistance to open a small restaurant business on St. Juilles
Street in the city.
She recalled
that when Yearwood was released from prison a few years ago
after serving a reduced sentence for manslaughter in connection
with the death of a youngster from St. David's, he made
several attempts without success to get a decent job. She said
that on one occasion he went for an interview with a local hotel
and was assured of a job.
However,
the operators became aware of his prison sentence and then withdrew
the job contract forcing young Yearwood to return to his life
of old. The mother said: "Regardless of what you might
hear people say, my son was a nice, loving and caring son. He
did not use to pass people without saying hello to them".
"He
(Michael) was really loving and caring. He had a lot of respect
for people", chipped in Anne De Roche, the girlfriend of
the deceased. "He was really, really nice to everybody.
He had a lot of respect for me. I could have talked to him about
anything", she said.
De Roche
is a mother of two children that did not belong to the deceased.
She said: "Even though things might get out of control
between us at times, we would talk it over and just move on
and pretend as if nothing ever happened".
Michael's
slaying is the third unfortunate incident to hit the Yearwood
family over the years. In the 70's, the family lost a 13-year
old son who was struck in the head with a cricket bat by another
youngster in the village and in the late 80's a girl child
was raped and killed near to the Grand Mal beach.
Police
are said to be continuing investigation into the murder of Michael
Yearwood who is to be buried next week.
