[UPDATED] Ready to flee

Lennox Joseph. -
Lennox Joseph. -

After surviving an assasination attempt that left him physically and mentally scarred in April, retired police constable Lennox Joseph is mourning his wife and youngest son. They were shot dead in San Juan on Tuesday.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James yesterday, Joseph, 65, said his wife and son, Marsha and Shawn Joseph, were murdered because of a dispute over a piece of land.

He said the ownership of the land was hotly disputed, leading to arguments both in and out of court, and he had reported numerous threats against his life to the authorities with no success. He also suspected corrupt elements in the police and the Local Government Ministry wanted him to lose his property.

Despite his efforts to retain ownership of the land, in lower Santa Cruz, Joseph said he was tired of having to keep looking over his shoulder and did not want to lose any more loved ones to violence.

“I tried my best to get this sorted out. The land is just one plot. But the people that did this are really ruthless. They shot me all in my stomach back on April 25.

“But never in my wildest dreams did I think that they would be unleashing this onslaught on my family.

“I am happy to be alive, because a doctor told me that none of my vital organs were damaged from the shooting.”

Joseph said despite appealing to the Prime Minister, the former Police Commissioner and others for help in resolving the issue, he feels he has been ignored.

“I worked for the police service for 11 years. I pay $12,500 rent every month for that mini-mart.

“And today I have to run from this country, because nobody is paying attention to my plight. I am already calling for a price for my house. As I stand here talking to you, I don’t even know how safe I am.”

Joseph said he owned the mini-mart where his wife and son worked and was heartbroken to hear of their deaths while at his Hillcrest, Santa Cruz home.

He said he is ready to sell all of his belongings and leave Trinidad for good.

Joseph recalled the disbelief he felt when he got the phone call from the police about the shooting. “I was at home and my daughter was with me. We heard the phone ringing and when she went to answer it, I just heard her starting to scream. I tried to ask her what happened but she couldn’t answer. The police on the other end told me about the shooting. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“They couldn’t kill me the last time, so they decided to get to my wife and child.”

Joseph said he intended to give his son Shawn the keys to his own business as an early Christmas present but now lamented that he would be selling the property to plan for the funerals.

This story was originally published with the title "Husband and father of double murder victims ready to leave TT" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

After surviving an assassination attempt that left him scarred in April, retired police constable Lennox Joseph is mourning the deaths of his wife and youngest son. They were shot dead in San Juan on Tuesday.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James on Wednesday, 65-year-old Joseph said his wife and son, Marsha and Shawn Joseph, were murdered because of a dispute over a plot of land.

He said ownership of the land was hotly disputed leading to arguments both in and out of court.

"I tried my best to get this sorted out. The land is just one plot but the people that did this are really ruthless.

"They shot me all in my stomach back on April but I never dreamed that they would be unleashing this onslaught on my family."

Joseph said he owned the mini-mart where his wife and son worked and was heartbroken to hear of their deaths while at his Hillcrest, Santa Cruz home.

He said he is ready to sell all of his belongings and leave Trinidad for good.

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"[UPDATED] Ready to flee"

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