Marabella taxi driver robbed, murdered by 'passengers'

VETERAN taxi driver, Brian ‘Biggie’ Hackett, 50, of Silk Cotton Road, Battoo Avenue, Marabella was robbed and murdered by gunmen pretending to be passengers on Saturday night. According to a police report, Hackett, who works the Princes Town to San Fernando route, picked up three men at Library Corner, San Fernando, at around 11.30 pm.

While on the way to Princes Town along the M1 Ring Road, police said, the men ordered the driver to stop the vehicle. Investigators said Hackett was shot in the abdomen and neck when he attempted to fight off the gunmen.

Hackett’s wife and five children learned of his murder when the police visited his home at 3 am on Sunday to break the news that he was killed. When Newsday visited the home, emotions ran high as relatives were crying because of the pain of losing the head of their home.

A female relative who requested anonymity said Hackett worked as a taxi driver for the past 20 years, providing for his family while renovating his home.

“He was a caring and loving father and on a day like Sunday he will be home cooking and enjoying time with his family,” the relative said.

Relatives say they look at social media and the newspaper and see that murders are happening every day in the country but they never once believed it would hit home and one of their own would be a victim.

“I know he would fight back anyone who attacks him because he works really hard and I am sure he will not easily give in to bandits,” a relative said.

The relative said the car Hackett was driving at the time of the murder belonged to his wife, “We have lost our sole breadwinner and all the money and car.”

The relative is hoping the police could recover the vehicle but she is not sure whether the murderers will be brought to justice.

“Murderers are never caught and if they do, they are out on the streets within quick time so I am not looking for justice,” she said.

That is why, she added, there are so many murders happening in the country.

Five years ago, the relative said, Hackett was a victim of robbery when he went out to buy doubles on Sunday morning and was met with gun-toting bandits who took his jewellery and the cash on him.

“It was a scary experience but he did not let that incident affect him from going out at night and working to take care of his family."

It was around mid-night on Saturday that an off duty police officer who was driving along the M1 Ring saw the commotion between the bandits and the taxi driver and called for back-up. By the time other officers arrived on the scene, Hackett’s lifeless body was dumped roadside. Police say the gunmen escaped in a white Nissan Tiida car.

Police have since issued an all-points bulletin for the vehicle that Hackett was driving.