Man's throat slit in suspected robbery at his Chaguanas home

A Venezuelan national has been held for the murder of a Chaguanas man who was found with his his feet tied and throat slit in the living room of his house.

Stephen Sookhan, 59, was found by his neighbour at around 11 pm on Wednesday in his home at Oasis Gardens.

The neighbour, a police officer, was at the gym when his wife called and said she heard loud banging noises at Sookhan’s home.

The officer left the gym and went to Sookhan’s house where he saw a shirtless man stooping in a dark area under a mango tree in the yard. The officer identified himself and asked the man why he was in Sookhan’s yard.

However the man spoke only Spanish and was unable to communicate with the officer.

The officer then saw Sookhan’s front door open and on entering, found him dead on the ground with his feet tied with electrical cord. The officer detained the shirtless man until police arrived.

CCTV footage from a nearby house showed a man matching the Venezuelan’s description entering another neighbour’s yard and banging on the doors and windows.

The district medical officer later ordered Sookhan's body to be taken to the Forensic Sciences Centre in St James for an autopsy.

His family was hesitant to speak with reporters on Thursday at the centre with a female relative only saying, “That is what happens when you are over good and your heart is too big.”

Sookhan’s car was missing along with several other valuables from his house and police believe robbery to be the likely motive for his murder.

Chaguanas East MP Vandana Mohit pointed to statistics provided to a Joint Select Committee hearing last year, which showed a rise in home invasions in the constituency. In a media release on Thursday, Mohit asked what strategies were in place to address this rise in such crimes.

She said residents were “up in arms” and demanding drastic action.

“They feel betrayed and abandoned by Government bearing in mind they are at the mercy of the criminal elements who are definitely in the ascendency.”

Mohit added, “Society continues to be fearful, discomforted and at times numb to the atrocious actions of criminals.”