‘Our prayers have been answered’

HANG HIM: Christine Chapman, mother of murder victim Abigail Chapman and grandmother of murdered schoolgirl Olivia 
Chapman, yesterday called for their killer to be handed over to the hangman. PHOTO BY VASHTI SINGH
HANG HIM: Christine Chapman, mother of murder victim Abigail Chapman and grandmother of murdered schoolgirl Olivia Chapman, yesterday called for their killer to be handed over to the hangman. PHOTO BY VASHTI SINGH

LAUREL V WILLIAMS and RYAN HAMILTON-DAVIS

PRAYERS, prayers and more prayers led to the capture of the suspect in last Tuesday’s gruesome murders of four people in La Brea. That was the view of relatives of the murder victims when told yesterday of the suspect’s arrest at a quarry in Valencia.

“We were praying all the time. We never stopped praying. Everyone was praying individually so the prayers were for different things. Some were praying that police held him soon. We just wanted him captured anyhow, dead or alive,” said Christine Chapman whose daughter Abigail Chapman, 41, and granddaughter Olivia Chapman, 16, were among the four murdered.

The other victims are Abigail’s landlord, Michael Scott, 69, and Olivia’s friend and schoolmate, Michaela Mason, 14. In the midst of her grief, Christine said there is something the authorities can do to bring a sense of relief to the families affected.

“If they should give him over to the hangman, that would be a plus, because it will send a message to all the abusers and murderers that there is a consequence for their action. The murders of these four people must not be in vain. We are relieved that he is in custody. We hope he gets the hangman,” Chapman told Newsday.

Abigail was a teacher at the Southern Academy of the Seventh Day Adventist in La Romaine while Scott was a retired secondary school teacher.

The suspect lived on the outskirts of Point Fortin and apart from being a mason by trade, he worked as a PH driver and operated along the La Brea/Point Fortin route. He has two children from a previous relationship.

On Saturday night, NGC La Brea Nightingales Steel Orchestra hosted an event to pay tribute to Scott, its assistant manager. In that event held at the panyard at Point D’or, people prayed for the speedy capture of the suspect. Yesterday, other relatives gave thanks on being told the news of the man’s arrest.

“Amen, we feel good! We prayed on his head enough. We went the service at the panyard where people prayed for the speedy capture of the suspect. God answers prayers,” a female relative of Scott said.

The funeral for mother and daughter takes place at La Brea SDA church from 1 pm on Wednesday. Scott’s funeral service is scheduled for Sunday from 11 am at the same church. Mason’s service is yet to be confirmed. Contacted yesterday, relatives of the suspect confirmed hearing that he had been arrested but they did not want to comment on it.

Relatives of Scott, expressed relief after hearing the news that the suspected killer was arrested by Northern Division Police on Saturday.

A relative told Newsday that while the family is coping with his death, several members of the community in Sobo Village, La Brea where Scott lived and where he was killed, were seething over the quadruple murders.

“Everyone in Michael’s family were secretly hoping that police would hold him as quickly as possible before residents of Sobo Village could lay their hands on him,” said a relative. “Police told us they would contact us as soon as he was apprehended, and they did. So we are also thankful for that.”

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