Bon Air Gardens murder victims laid to rest

THE three men shot dead at Bon Air Gardens on Monday were buried together in one grave under Muslim rites at the Munroe Road Public Cemetery in Caroni yesterday. They are Kadeem “Smalls” Williams, 25; Dwight “Fifty” Richardson, 28; and Salim Dominique, 29.

Under a blazing sun and a heavy presence of about ten armed police and two soldiers, about 200 of the men’s friends, neighbours and family members attended to pay their last respects.

The original starting time of 10 am for formalities was pushed back to 1 pm, seemingly due to the late arrival of death certificates.

In fact, after rites were conducted for the three, initially only Williams and Richardson were buried, with Dominique’s burial delayed a while.

Initially, relatives of Williams, whose mother is Christian, offered up hymns and Christian prayers.

While saying his death was unexpected, they thanked God for the time they had spent with him and said God knows best.

“He was always so loving, and would always give his aunt a hug,” related one grieving relative.

One neighbour said, “If you had listened to your mother, you’d be here today. See you on resurrection day.”

After the viewing of the bodies, the three caskets were lined up in the road that had been cordoned off by the police.

Three rows of Muslim males were led in funeral prayers or janazah by a maulana or Muslim religious scholar in the road, after which the bodies were buried.