Pensioner’s body in barrel

Two relatives, a man and woman, are in police custody for the murder of 87-year-old pensioner Irvin Ming, whose body was found stuffed in a barrel at his home at Calcutta No. 2 in Freeport yesterday.

Ming’s disappearance was first reported on Wednesday to the Freeport police who contacted the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU) when, on Thursday, Ming’s relatives received a phone call from someone demanding a $10,000 ransom for his safe return.

The search for Ming was led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Harold Phillip and included AKU officers led by head of Port of Spain CID Snr Supt Ajith Persad along with Inspector Thomas and Sgt Harvey. Tracker dogs picked up the scent during a search of Ming’s two-storey house yesterday and led officers to the black plastic barrel on the ground floor where his body was found at about 1 pm.

Crime Scene Unit and homicide officers were called in and a 25-year-old male relative was detained. Last evening, in a Twitter post, police announced two relatives were held, and one was a woman.

Police said Ming’s murder may have stemmed from a domestic dispute he had with the male relative over a planned eviction.

They believe Ming was killed on Wednesday, the same day he was reported missing. His body was taken to the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James for an autopsy.