Grieving Mafeking man gunned down

Still mourning his sister's death, Mayaro resident Joel Kevin Ellis, 37, went to work on Tuesday at a construction site, where a man shot and killed him.

Ellis died on the spot at Naparima/Mayaro Road in Mafeking Village, Mayaro. Two co-workers were also hit but survived..

Up to Tuesday afternoon, the survivors, identified as his brother-in-law Marshall Singh and Roland Belcon, were at the Sangre Grande Hospital.

Ellis, a father of two, also called Radio and Duncan, lived at Logwood Trace in Mafeking Village.

From what the relatives were told, a "red-skin fella" wearing a coverall and mask walked up to the three and started shooting. The killer ran off.

On Friday, Ellis attended the funeral of his only sister, Joanne Ellis, 38. The mother of three, she died from cancer. She and Ellis were the only children of Lucille Ellis, who died in July 2020 after a stroke, relatives said. The mother and daughter were buried next to each other at the Radix cemetery in Mayaro.

Ellis’s bereaved common-law wife Racheal Isaac told Newsday she got the devastating news at about 9.30 am, when a relative called her by phone.

"He now went back out to work, since the sister passed. The two were close.

"When he left home, I was asleep. He went to work on a fence. When we (relatives) reached, he was dead," Isaac said with tears in her eyes.

Isaac said Joanne had lived elsewhere but recently returned to Mayaro, where she spent her last days with relatives, a few houses away.

She recalled that Ellis had an altercation with a man who allegedly chopped him on his head and hands a few weeks ago. A female relative later threatened to kill him.

"He reported it to police, and they took statements," she said.

To date, no one has been arrested. The family wants police to investigate whether the woman is linked to Ellis's killing.

Newsday contacted police, who did not confirm or deny that a report was made about the woman or male relative who allegedly chopped Ellis.

Mayaro and Homicide Bureau Region II police visited the scene. Investigations are continuing.