Relatives in house moments before mom, son killed: NARROW ESCAPE

Keiron Theroulde. -
Keiron Theroulde. -

Relatives of murder victims Kathleen, 56, and her son Keiron “Juice” Theroulde, 29, breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday when they realised they narrowly escaped the gunmen mere seconds before the attack at the family's Tunapuna home on Friday evening.

Kathleen and Keiron were shot and killed by gunmen at their Cornelius Drive, Tunapuna Road home during a suspected robbery. Newsday visited the area on Sunday and spoke to Keiron's father, John Theroulde, who said he was still in shock after hearing about the murders.

Theroulde lives a short distance away from where the incident happened and said he head the gunshots and called his son out of concern, not knowing he was already dead.

"The night before, they shot up the place so I didn't think much of it. But I called him (Keiron) on WhatsApp first and he didn't answer, then I made a regular call and he still didn't answer. That's when I decided to take a walk down the hill to check and see for myself, and that's when I saw the police. I knew something was wrong immediately," he said.

"His mother Kathleen and I were still on good terms. We separated about 13 years ago, but we were always cordial with each other. Neither he nor his mother deserved this."

Theroulde said while he is still hurt about the murders of his son and ex-wife, he was grateful no one else was killed. He said other relatives who were near the house missed the attackers mere seconds apart.

"Keiron's son (name called) left the house just a few seconds before to go and buy some pizza in the neighbourhood. He (the son) told his father to lock back the door but Keiron didn't take him on and look what happened.

"Keiron's sister also left her house with her son just before the shooting began. I'm just happy all of them are alright."

Newsday also spoke to Keiron's uncle, Leon Boneo, who said he hid mere meters away from where the shooting happened as he filled a bucket with water that afternoon.

"I just came down to fill up a bucket with some water then I remembered that I had to go upstairs to the second storey where they had the water tank.

"If I had stayed downstairs, they (the killers) would have walked right into me and I don't know what would have happened after that. When I heard the gunshots I ducked down and I heard my wife calling out for me, but I couldn't answer her because they would have come for me too."

Theroulde admitted while his son occasionally sold marijuana out of the family's home, he did not deserve to die and blamed jealousy for his son's killing.

"He used to sell his little weed and thing but he didn't rob anyone with his prices. He recently saved up to buy a gold chain and that is when I feel people started to get jealous of what he had."

Relatives said Keiron's chain and cash were missing from the house after the attack, and robbery was the suspected motive for the killing.

In preparation for dressing his son's body, Theroulde said he was trying on a pair of his son's sneakers to find out if it would still fit him and lamented how unnatural it was for a parent to plan his child’s funeral.

"I'm not supposed to be doing this. My son was supposed to be preparing to dress my body and figure out if my shoes would still fit me for when I die, not the other way around."

Asked if he was fearful for his own life after the killings, Theroulde said he was more concerned for the safety of his wife and three daughters and is putting his faith in the police to find the killers.

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"Relatives in house moments before mom, son killed: NARROW ESCAPE"

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