Family: Prison escapee was murdered

Relatives of Unil Phillip, the prisoner who allegedly escaped from the Carrera island prison and died in the surrounding waters, spoke to Newsday yesterday, saying the only things they want for Christmas are answers and justice.

After an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre (FSC) in St James concluded Phillip drowned, a second autopsy by Dr Hubert Daisley concluded Phillip suffered a broken neck. His family now believe he was killed, then thrown into the water.

“He may have been killed by strangulation or hanging,” said one relative.

“Right now there is no Christmas for this family.”

Relatives who did not wish to be named said Phillip was badly beaten four months before his alleged escape and had to be hospitalised. They told Newsday they did not believe he would try to escape, because he only had a year of his sentence left.

“He had two children here on the outside that he was living for,” a relative said. “We can’t believe that he would try to escape. Even if he was not conducting himself and was being carried to the warden when he got chance to escape, why weren’t his guards transporting him with handcuffs on?

“People were saying in the media that we did not want to claim the body because we did not have any money. But if we didn’t have money how could we have been able to pay for a second autopsy?”

Asked why anyone would want to kill Phillip, relatives said the motive may have been jealousy.

“Whoever ordered this may have seen him as a black man who was giving trouble, then turned his life around and was starting to see his way, and they were jealous of that.”

Police said Phillip, who was serving time for possession of narcotics, ammunition and firearms, leapt off Carrera into the Gulf of Paria at about 3 pm last Tuesday. He was not seen again until Thursday, when his body was found.