Diego Martin father of 3 killed before fulfilling his dream

SHAMMA Nothingham, who was shot in Port of Spain on June 9, died without being able to fulfil his dream of leaving a financial legacy for his children.

Around noon, Nothingham, 35, of Sea Trace, Bagatelle Road, Diego Martin, went to buy tyres at a tyre shop on Nelson Street. He was loading them into the trunk of his car when a man in a black hoodie approached him.

The man fired multiple shots at Nothingham and then escaped by running north on Nelson Street.

Police found 15 spent 9mm shell casings at the scene and an autopsy revealed Nothingham had been shot 16 times.

Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, a female relative said Nothingham was silly, loving and passionate.

The relative, who chose to remain anonymous, said she had no idea why he was targeted.

“He was very carefree when he ready, but he's not like an arrogant person. He didn't like to get vex. He was always trying to be on peace and love and was always trying to settle things down, not create problems.”

She said Nothingham was a good, dedicated father.

“He always used to say that he is fighting for his kids for when he leaves this world. So he always used to try to get things to benefit his kids...He wants to make sure his kids are 100 per cent safe and taken care of. So that was what he was working towards.”

The relative said Nothingham worked as a mechanic and trying to save money for his children.

Although his children have different mothers and they didn’t all live together, he spent as much time as possible with them, she said.

“He lived with his eldest and the other two will come and visit. They will have weekends where they will come or sometimes they will come for a full week.”

The relative said despite his ambitions, he had no life insurance and had not yet acquired any major assets: “Stability, a house, a car, something to be given to (his children) because they are young – so something like an insurance, something to start them off with in life.”

The family now has to find money to bury Nothingham instead.

“Crime is real ridiculous and something needs to be done,” she added.

Asked if she believed the authorities could get crime under control, the relative said she doesn’t believe it is possible. She said if other things like corruption cannot be stamped out, then neither can the more heinous crimes.

“Trinidad is a place where I find the coat of arms could say, ‘In racket we trust, racket is a must.’ Because once you have money, you can basically get away with anything here. And to get crime under control, if the country is laden with so much corruption, then how could we get (crime) under control?”

She called for the government to put more emphasis on helping the poor and vulnerable in society and provide more opportunities for them to come out of poverty.

“They try a thing and raise the minimum wage to $20.50, but grocery prices are high. And then if you try to get a government contract is something. But those who have more continue to get more, because once you have that money talking, you could get through with anything.”