Husband of killed protester: Trying to be strong for my children

The past 48 hours have been an emotional rollercoaster for Darren Joseph after his common-law wife Ornella Greaves was shot dead during a confrontation with police in Beetham Gardens on Tuesday.

She was four months pregnant.

Speaking with Newsday on Wednesday Joseph, 41, said while he was trying to be strong for the sake of his six children, he was under a great deal of emotional and financial pressure, as he is now the sole breadwinner of his family.

Joseph, who works as a vendor and does occasional odd jobs, said the incident has deeply pained him and his family. Some of his children still do not understand what happened to their mother.

"She and I have been together for the past ten years. Our oldest son is ten years old and now this came and happened.

"I have no money to be able to afford to hold a wake for her. But look what came and happened now."

Joseph said when his wife was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, he offered to give blood to help save her life, but nurses said she had already been given a transfusion.

While he does not know if additional blood would have saved his wife's life, he was looking forward to her autopsy on Thursday to confirm whether or not she had been treated as the nurses said.

"They said they were trying to stop her bleeding, But to tell you the truth, when I go down there (to the Forensic Science Centre) tomorrow and they perform the autopsy and they don't see any sign that she was cut to try and save her, there will be a bacchanal. Because I pleaded with the nurses and doctors.

"I won't take that lightly. My hands are not tied. But no matter what happens, it won't bring back my wife. I'm not disrespecting anyone and I'm not threatening anyone."

Revisiting comments he made about Police Commissioner Gary Griffith during a television interview on Tuesday night, Joseph said he made the comments in anger and did not hold anything against Griffith.

"He never did anything to me. I don't think it's a matter of me having to meet him, I can't fight the system and he's a part of the system, but there are certain things I won't take.

"Look at how much people were shot yesterday. My wife was selling cigarettes and she lost our four-month-old baby."

He said he had also spoken to friends who were police officers "and I let them know that I don't hold anything against them.

"They were kind enough to drop off some juice for my children, and I'm grateful. But I'm still very stressed."

Joseph said while the autopsy would be able to give the details of his wife's death, he understood she was shot in the abdomen by a police officer during the protest near the Beetham Highway.

In a press conference on Tuesday Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith said an investigation would be launched into the matter.