‘We are deeply sorry’

In tears, the brother of Lloyd Logan, 60, said he was sorry for the pain Logan inflicted upon 37-year-old Kemba Olufemi, the woman he brutally beat unconscious, six days ago. Logan then committed suicide.

At the time, Claudius Logan was speaking at the David Guide & Son Funeral Chapel in Couva during the funeral of his brother yesterday.

Wiping away his tears, Claudius told mourners that he was “deeply sorry” for what Logan did. “I just want to apologise for what my brother did. I really want to apologise for the pain, discomfort and embarrassment he caused.”

A tearful Claudius said he not only wanted to apologise to the victim, but he wanted to publicly apologise to her family. “I wish Kemba (Olufemi) a speedy recovery from all the physical and mental pains my brother bestowed upon her. Again, my apologies to everyone.”

The tragedy occurred on Monday morning at the car park of Tropical Plaza, Pointe-a-Pierre where Olufemi and Logan had agreed to meet.

Reports said Logan had greeted her with a smile with a gun hidden behind his back. When Olufemi refused to entertain a conversation about their stalled relationship, Logan’s tone changed and he pointed the gun at her saying he was there to kill her.

She tried to escape in her car but Logan opened the door and dragged her out. He tried to shoot her but the gun jammed. He then began beating her mercilessly with the gun butt to her head until she became unresponsive. Afterwards, Logan drank poison and later died.

Up to late yesterday, Olufemi remained warded at San Fernando General Hospital in a stable condition. She suffered serious injuries to her head, including a hairline skull fracture.

A small group of Logan’s family members and friends yesterday gathered at the chapel to say their final farewell to the troubled man. Mourners wept openly. Logan’s nephew, Ancil, said his uncle was being judged by many who did not even know him.

He said some people had even refused to attend his funeral. He told mourners that what his uncle did is between him and God. “He has to answer to God. Please don’t judge him, please. People are saying all kinds of things about him, which is not true.”

Logan’s niece, Donna, who delivered the eulogy along with her two sisters, said her uncle was a father figure to them. “Please don’t judge him based on the circumstances in which he parted, this was by no means a representation of who he was.”

She described her uncle as generous and loving. “He was always there for us,” an inconsolable Donna cried. The service was officiated by pastor Lester Pierre.

Logan was laid to rest at the California Public Cemetery.