Rio Claro girl, 13, uncle shot dead at home, girl’s father wounded

HOURS after she pointed out a couple in an ID parade at the Rio Claro Police station, 13-year-old schoolgirl Andrea Lallan was gunned down while asleep in her home on Friday.

The St Therese RC School student and her uncle Sylvan “Puncin” Lallan, 49, who used a wheelchair, were shot dead inside their Old Mayaro Road, Libertyville home before dawn. Both were shot in the head.

Andrea’s father and Sylvan’s brother Eddy Lallan, 47, was also shot but survived. Newsday learnt that about two years ago, Sylvan damaged his spine from a fall and could not walk.

Residents, who requested anonymity, told Newsday the child had confided in her peers “over the years” about abuse by “different people.”

Her father had been her sole caregiver since she was about one.

When rapid gunshots rang about 2 am on Friday, villagers said they stayed indoors.

“When I recognised the shooting was not by me, I stayed inside and listened to the shots.

“We have no killers inside this community, but this is not shocking. Whoever they came for was clearly in that house only,” a villager said.

After the gunshots ended, a villager saw the girl’s father on the roadway and took him to the Rio Claro health facility. He had a wound to the neck.

Lallan informed police that gunmen began shooting minutes earlier, and other relatives were still on the scene.

The police went to the wooden house where they found the bodies. Andrea was found on a bed while her uncle’s body was found on cushions on the living room floor. He was lying on his back, bareback and in short blue pants, police said.

The police cordoned off the area and alerted other relevant authorities.

After viewing the bodies, DMO Dr Ramnanan, ordered their removal pending an autopsy at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Eastern Division police including Acting Insp Mahabir, Sgt Maharaj, PC Daniel and WPC Kheerai, and Homicide Bureau of Investigations (Region II) officers including Sgt Ramsahai and PCs Rambhajan, Gillead and Barra, were at the scene.

Eight spent shells of 9mm ammunition were found at the scene.

On Friday afternoon, a female relative who lives elsewhere, visited the house but declined to speak.

She sat at the front of the house and between sobs, said: “Give me peace today, I beg of you, Lord. Help me to tote the cross, Lord.”

No one has been arrested for the murders.

Hours earlier, on Thursday, the girl pointed out two suspects during an identification parade.

Later on Thursday evening, WPC Farrier of the Rio Claro CID charged a 23-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man with two assault offences.

On Friday, the man and woman appeared virtually in the Rio Claro Magistrates’ Court.

Magistrate Ava Vandenberg-Bailey granted the woman, a house cleaner, $500,000 surety bail. The co-accused, a contractor, was denied bail and remanded into police custody.

They are expected to reappear in court on October 27. Sgt Arjoon was the court prosecutor.

The charges stemmed from an incident which occurred at 3.15 pm on September 15 when the girl was asleep at the couple’s home. The two accused allegedly threatened to kill the child if she reported the matter to anyone.

The girl and her father reported it to the Rio Claro police. Sgt Maharaj led the investigations, which included WPC O’Connor.

The double murder occurred a week after a similar incident in which gunmen stormed a house in Guanapo, east Trinidad and opened fire on the occupants, all of whom were asleep at the time.

The gunmen killed siblings Faith Peterkin, 10, Arianna Peterkin, 14, Shain Peterkin, 17 and Tiffany Peterkin, 19. Five others, including two children, were wounded.

A funeral for the murdered four was held on Friday at the chapel of the Allen’s Funeral Home in Arima.

Editor’s note: Information provided to Newsday by both police sources and people interviewed at the crime scene has been omitted in order to protect the dignity of the victims and their family.