2 women's bodies found in Tobago apartment

The deaths of two women found in an apartment in Moriah may have taken Tobago’s homicide toll to a historic high.
But police have said there appeared to be no marks of violence on their bodies, and autopsies at the Scarborough Hospital mortuary are yet to be done.

The women were identified as 34-year-old Shevonne Moffat and 62-year-old Gemma Alexis. Their bodies were found in Moffat's apartment in Bottom Road, Arnos Vale Road, Woodlands, Moriah.

Police told Newsday that around 6.20 pm on Wednesday, the owner of the apartment went to the Moriah Police Station and reported the discovery of the bodies.

Police said both women were found on a bed. They were pronounced dead by the DMO, and their bodies were ordered removed to the mortuary for autopsies.

When Newsday visited Moriah on Thursday, one neighbour said there had been an unpleasant smell in the area for two days.

“We got a stench on Tuesday – we thought of a dead animal, but never for once did we think that it was a human, much less two.
"We didn’t see them all through Christmas, but we thought nothing of it, because they would come and go usually.”

Another neighbour said she saw Moffat the day before Christmas Eve.

“I saw her, she came home from work, and we exchanged sentiments briefly.

“She was even telling me that she was looking forward to Christmas, as she had planned on getting some much-needed rest, so not seeing her over the Christmas holidays raised no red flags for me, in all honesty.”

She added: “This news of the discovery really shocked me – she was so pleasant, she never passed me straight.”

Moffat's neighbours said they did not know Alexis.

At the Star Fish Hotel in Black Rock, where Moffat worked as a waitress, her co-workers described her as a loving person. They said they did not know Alexis.

“Shevonne would definitely be missed.

"She was in work the day before Christmas Eve, and it was definitely a good shift, everyone talked and had lots of fun while getting the job done.

“She even spoke of her sister visiting for Christmas and the kind of plans they had,” one co-worker said.

She said Moffat was last seen at work on Christmas Eve, and was rostered to work on Christmas and Boxing Day, but did not show up.

“We called her both days, but we never got a response, the phone was just ringing out. By the time we tried again on Wednesday, it was going to voicemail, so I guess the battery was dead by that time.”

She recalled hearing Moffat, who was from Trinidad, talking about an incident a few years ago in which her mother was shot dead the day before she was due in court in a matter involving the ownership of a property in Gasparillo.

Another co-worker said: “This one caught us off guard. She had no relatives here, so she depended on her friends for support all the time. Definitely not what I expected to hear about Moffat. Wow, what is life?”