A mother and daughter were shot dead in their Claxton Bay home on Friday afternoon.
They were identified as Savitri Sooklal, 60, and her 21-year-old daughter, Arianna Sangeeta Balgobin.
Sooklal and Balgobin were found in separate rooms at their Soledad Road home around 6.30 p.m.
Police said Balgobin was found on a couch in the living room with a wound to the head.
Her mother was found near the washroom with a wound to the head.
Investigators said yesterday that robbery was not a motive in the killings.
Residents told the Sunday Express that Sooklal’s husband died of a heart attack in June, and to have something like this happen so soon after was heart-breaking.
The couple had two children.
Dozens of police officers visited the Claxton Bay residence, which also houses the family’s transport business, RB Services Ltd, and another house occupied by an employee on the same compound.
The Sunday Express spoke with two employees, one of whom is a relative, who did not want to be identified.
She said she believed the murders of the mother and daughter were linked to a dispute over land and the family’s business.
The man and woman appeared visibly shaken, watching as officers went in and out of the residence.
“Our lives are at risk. Imagine this happened in broad daylight. Look at the proximity of where I live—it’s on the same compound,” the man said.
The employee told the Sunday Express he heard gunshots ring out around 2.50 p.m.
“Just before the shots, I was putting out fig when I heard a man’s voice say: ‘Ah come for my money! Where my f—— money? Where yuh (relative)?’
“I didn’t see anything. I heard a noise. It sounded like (galvanised) sheets dropping. The noise came from the house behind the garage. I became fearful and ran back inside and called the police.”
The relative and the employee said the family received death threats recently.
“The company has not been open for business since the previous lockdown measures due to Covid-19 and the recent passing of the boss, Mr Balgobin,” the employee said.
Balgobin’s relative added: “There has been an ongoing dispute over land and business, which has caused a terrible rift in the family. The night before, we were threatened again by the same person who vowed to come and spray us down with bullets.
“It is not the first time. We made a report to the police regarding the previous death threats almost two months ago.”
She recalled that Balgobin was a student at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) studying business.
“I believe she was in her final year. (Her mother) was a housewife,” she said.
Residents in the area said they were shocked to learn about the double murder.
They described the mother and daughter as genuine and hardworking people.
A former employee, who lives in the community, told the Sunday Express he wished for those responsible to be held and brought to justice.
The murder toll for the year so far stood at 276 up to last night, compared to 299 for the corresponding period in 2020.
(Trinidad Express)
