Marabella arson attack leaves 2 hurt, 5 homeless

A 30-year-old man locked his visiting girlfriend in a woodwork shop in Marabella on Tuesday night and set it on fire after an argument.

The woman, identified as Metcher Missette, 26, of Princes Town, escaped from the burning building through the back door. However, like the suspect, she was burnt and was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital.

The fire spread and destroyed the shop and two small wooden houses at the back, and damaged a concrete house at the front.

The incident began at about 7 pm at Bayshore (Old Train Line) in Marabella.

Shop owner and joiner Junior Rattan said the suspect lived in a room inside the shop.

Rattan told Newsday that he was at the roadside at the front and heard the man quarrelling loudly with his girlfriend, who was visiting.

During the quarrel, Rattan and other residents heard the suspect threatening to burn down the shop, but they paid no mind.

Residents then saw him pouring a liquid, later believed to be a flammable substance, around the wooden structure. A few moments later, they saw the house on fire.

He then left.

Rattan said, “It was disrespectful for him to do something like this. This is my livelihood. The pieces of equipment were very expensive. I will be 52 years old this year, and I have been doing this long trade time. I left secondary school to do this. I said one day I would open a shop, and I did.”

No one was able to save anything from the shop, as the flames spread rapidly. Rattan estimated the destroyed equipment was worth over $80,000.

He said he knew little of the injured woman, as he had only seen her twice on previous visits.

A man identified only as Baw, his wife, and their two children lived in one of the gutted houses at the back. No one was at home at the time of the fire.

A man identified only as Yankee lived in the other house.

A neighbour, Garvin Scott, said the fire damaged his home and estimated it would cost thousands of dollars to repair.

In January, Scott received keys to his home as part of government’s Housing and Village Improvement Programme. The project, an initiative of the Housing and Urban Development Ministry, is managed by the Land Settlement Agency. It is geared at improving housing and living conditions.

“By the grace of God, I still have my house. When I saw the flames, I thought I would have lost my house,” Scott said. “I was inside last night (Tuesday) when I heard him quarrelling, thinking he was on stupidness. Then I heard a noise and saw fire.”

A relative of the suspect, Nikita Williams-Nathaniel, lives next door to the shop. Although the suspect had not been diagnosed with any psychological illness, she believes he needs help. At times, he would recall things he said people had done to him.

She said, “After the fire, like he did not even realise he was burnt. He later sent a message with someone to say he was sorry. He said he did not know it (the damage) was so bad.

"I heard from his knees down was white. I never met the (injured) woman.” .

When he has an outburst, Williams-Nathaniel usually talks to him, and he would listen and calm down. When relatives told her about the quarrel, she never expected it would lead to the fire.

“I did not take it seriously. I say he would have gotten over it. Maybe if I had taken it seriously, he might not have done it,” Williams-Nathaniel speculated.

Fire officials visited the scene on Tuesday night and averted additional damage. Officials from the TT Electricity Commission visited the scene on Wednesday.

The suspect remained at the San Fernando General Hospital.

Marabella police are investigating.