Relatives of murdered men warn: Friends don't bring you back

The relatives of Nicholas Edwards and Anderson Rechais believe that both men were killed for following the wrong crowd and are calling for other youths to be more careful of the company they keep.

Edwards, 25 and Rechais, 18, were shot dead at the corner of Jean Street and the Eastern Main Road, Arima, on Saturday night.

Edwards' hands were tied behind his back with tie straps in the backseat of a grey Chevrolet car.

Newsday visited Edwards home on Sunday and spoke with his aunt Elizabeth Raymond who said both while her nephew was a good person at heart, she felt he got involved with the wrong group of people that could have led to his death.

"There are people to answer for his murder and I pray to God the police can find the killers. Nicholas wasn't a perfect fella but the way they killed him he didn't deserve to die like that.

"Nicholas was a jolly fella. He had you laughing all the time and always very helpful. It's just that he took a wrong turn in life, his friends had plenty to do with it. He and Anderson were good friends, they grew up together. Friends will carry you but they don't bring you back.

"He got caught up in life with some Muslim guys and with that he didn't want to leave home, if he had to go to Arima or to Port of Spain, he would call a car to pick him up, he would never walk out on his own."

Raymond said both Nicholas and Rechais went to buy marijuana when they were killed.

Newsday also visited Rechais' home and spoke to his relatives who also agreed that he fell into bad company in the area. Relatives also said young people in the community were in need of guidance as several youths were aligning themselves with gangs.

"He (Anderson) kind of started following the wrong crowd. This isn't a good area, there are plenty of young boys in this place that have nothing better to do but be out in the streets.

"Both he (Anderson) and Nicholas were riding partners, they knew each other since they were small. The youths need guidance and mentorship from the right people, not somebody pretending to be a community leader. They need someone to show them how to be constructive," another relative said.

Investigators from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region II are continuing enquiries into the murder.