The murder rate in Grenada continues to rise at an alarming pace for the year 2008.
The country has recorded its sixth murder in eight week, four less than what was recorded for the same period in 2007.
The latest two murders which are both family-related occurred 20 hours apart from each other on Saturday, March 1.
The first murder took place just about 12:30 a.m. at Paradise, St. Andrew's. Dead is 69-year old Richard Gilbert Flemming from a single stab wound to the chest.
Flemming's female companion, Annicita Greaves is accused of delivering the deadly wound.
Residents of Paradise claim that the two are accustomed to be engaged in domestic violence, but on that fateful night it became very violent and resulted in the death of the elderly man in the early hours of Saturday morning.
That deadly domestic violence is believed to have been over some liquor. They are both known to residents in the area as large consumers of alcohol.
Greaves made her first court appearance at the Grenville Magistrate's Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody to reappear in court on March 25.
The second murder that took place at Darbeau, St. George's was as a result of an altercation between two brothers over a missing sum of money.
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Accused - Little Nikki |
Residents of the area told GRENADA TODAY the dead brother, Anthony "Snakes" Gilbert spoke to his older brother, Nicholas " Little Niki" Gilbert about the loss of some money that he had in the house.
An initial scuffle took place between the two, at the end of which Snakes left home to conduct his daily routine business of selling clothes and jewellery on the sidewalk on Halifax Street. St. George's.
One of the residents who spoke on condition that he was not identified said that when Snakes returned in the village later that night he stayed for a short while with the guys liming on the blocks.
The villager said that when Snakes left, he said he was going to collect a Compact Disc to come back to play some music for them.
"He (Snakes) said he is going to get a little music to come back, for us to listen a little music on the side (of the road) there. We find he was not coming back, so something (is) wrong," he said.
According to the villager, the boys on the blocks became concerned when they did not see Snakes return.
He spoke of the group of men seeing Little Niki, a 25-year old registered student, leaving the area in a quick haste with what appeared to be blood stains on his clothes."I told those men to go and see what had happened," the resident said.
Snakes was discovered inside the unfinished house that he shares with Little Niki in a pool of blood.
The men took up the badly wounded Snakes and rushed with him for medical attention, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at the St. George's General Hospital.
The 24-year old Snakes who operates a small business in St. George's received multiple chop wounds around the area of his neck.
Snakes' sister who arrived at the murder scene from her home at Perdmontemps, St. David's cried out in pain over the loss of her young brother.
Overcome by her uncontrollable emotions, she said she had invited him to come and live with her but he did not."Oh my sweet baby brother, why you baby brother, why you? Tone, Tone ,you are so sweet to me. I always talk to Tone, Tone, I always beg Tone, Tone to stay out of trouble. He (Snake) said Sis, I am not in any trouble. He said Sis, I am behaving. Why you, what Niki do the boy that for?
"Tone, Tone, I told you to come and live with me. I begged you to come and live with me. You shouldn't be in that," the grieving sister said.
The Caretaker for the Town of St. George for the ruling New National Party (NNP) government, Senator Brenda Hood and a male companion, Phillip Baptiste were spotted in the area trying to comfort the grieving young lady.
As residents joined in mourning the loss of Snakes, there were mixed reactions coming from two different groups of people.
A group of middle-aged people spoke of how Snakes had reformed his life, on the initiative of his mother, Ursulla Castle who had migrated to the United States.
According to them, the mother constantly sent him with clothes to sell so that he could earn a livelihood."She (the mother) likes that one (Snakes) very much. He is more behaving," one of the women said.
They described Snakes as having a quiet personality, and not engaged in unlawful activities.
However, a small group of young boys, averaging to be no more than ten years old expressed regret over Little Niki finding himself in trouble with the law.
The boys told a GRENADA TODAY Reporter there will no longer be a Summer Camp for them since it was Little Niki, who on an annual basis, organised the Summer School for the children of Darbeau.
Little Niki made his first court appearance on Tuesday before Chief Magistrate, Patricia Mark where a charge of murder wa read to him.
He is due to re-appear in court on March 18.
