Slain woman's uncle: Humanity deserves more

SHOT DEAD: Siobhan Rogers. -
SHOT DEAD: Siobhan Rogers. -

Even as the family of Siobhan Rogers continues to struggle with her murder, one relative is calling on the public not to lose their humanity amidst the upsurge in crime and violence.

Rogers, 38, was gunned down while sitting in a silver Toyota Corolla outside a gym on Abercromby Street, St Joseph, on Monday night.

A relative who was closing up the gym, drove her to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where she was declared dead shortly after.

Rogers was a director of Apex Diagnostics Ltd and a Taekwondo practitioner.

Newsday visited the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Wednesday when her body was brought for storage and identification.

Rogers' father, former PNM senator Linus Rogers who visited the centre to identify her body said he was struggling to maintain composure and asked that questions be directed to his brother, Rogers' uncle Hudson Rogers.

Speaking with Newsday during a telephone interview, Rogers' who lives in the US said he returned to TT on Tuesday after hearing about his niece's murder.

He said while he did not feel qualified to comment on the state of crime in TT as he lives abroad, he felt violence anywhere was cause for concern and urged citizens not to resort to violence.

"Anytime any of us in any part of the world are subjected to violence, we all lose a part of our soul and we as a people, as Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica, the US, England, any part of the world... anytime we have violence against each other, we are losing our humanity.

"My message to my homegrown Trinidad natives is that our humanity deserves more than this.

"That's not what our parents brought us up to do and I want to say our parents, your parents, my parents, parents across this country, that is not what they brought us up to do."

Rogers said his niece's murder left the family baffled as they had limited information on the incident.

He added that the family preferred not to speculate over what caused Rogers' murder as they found comfort in God.

"What we know is that she got shot, she was taken to the hospital, rendered medical care and passed away.

"I spoke to my brother and that information he has from the police... we were not there, nobody can show us a video to say here is what happened so we don't speculate which is why in the statement, it is our faith that takes us through struggles like this, rather than speculating and making up stuff.

"It doesn't help and it's not going to bring her back."

While speaking with Newsday, Rogers read a prepared statement from the family in which he thanked Roger's friends and colleagues for their support.

He also stressed the importance of faith in helping the family cope with their grief.

"Siobhan was a kind, loving and caring soul in every sense of the word.

"She did not deserve this and though difficult we pray for God's mercy and forgiveness for we have come this far by faith as expressed in the Lord's prayer also known as the Our Father.

"For the parents, the siblings, the extended family, their loved ones and close friends, something like this lays raw, the emotions and anguish that results from losing someone so young and vibrant.

"As we try to come to terms with this heinous crime we are forever thankful for the outpouring of ongoing love and support."

Police from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region II are continuing enquiries.

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"Slain woman’s uncle: Humanity deserves more"

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