Friday, February 10 2012

A SAN FERNANDO man has been detained in connection with the murder of Ste Madeleine resident Sean Baptiste, 25, while investigators have stepped up the search for gunmen who shot and killed Baptiste’s friend and neighbour Kevin Ellis, 25, on Monday night.

On February 2, a police report stated, two men entered Baptiste’s home at Montgomery Street, Ste Madeleine, and beat him. Baptiste is reported to have suffered severe head injuries and slipped into a coma. He succumbed to his injuries several days later while warded at Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Meantime, Ellis who witnessed the incident decided to assist police with their investigations and came forward and gave a statement identifying the persons involved in his friend’s murder.

On Monday night, hours after talking to the police, he was shot and killed outside a neighbour’s house. Relatives said Ellis only wanted to help police find his friend’s killers.

The two murders which occurred mere days apart have rocked the small community. An autopsy performed on Wednesday at the Forensic Science Centre revealed that Ellis died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.

Ellis will be buried today at the St Clement’s Public Cemetery following a funeral service at his Ste Madeleine home. Officers of the Southern Homicide Unit are continuing investigations.