Villager detained over murders of Claxton Bay couple

The Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region Three, police have confirmed that a suspect has been detained in connection with the murders last week of a couple from Macaulay in Claxton Bay.

The 21-year-old suspect, who lives in the same community, was arrested over the weekend.

Basdeo "Ricky" Lallan, 49, a scrap-iron worker, and his 21-year-old girlfriend, Whitney Narine, of Teak Drive, off Macaulay Road, were shot and killed in their two-bedroom wooden house around 9 pm on November 28.

Narine worked as a labourer at the San Fernando City Corporation.

The couple’s seven-month-old son and another minor relative narrowly escaped death when the killer pointed a gun at them, but it jammed.

Lallan’s mother, Jean Subran, 64, believes she would have lost two more relatives had the gun fired.

"The baby is doing okay for now, but I do not know what I will say to him when he gets older. It is bothering me, because he lost both his parents," Subran told Newsday.

"Ricky was my first child. He was shot about eight times, and Whitney was hit with about six bullets. Maybe that is why the gun did not fire – it ran out of bullets."

When the gun jammed, the surviving child grabbed the baby and ran out of the house, escaping without injuries.

The gunman ran through a nearby track and left in a station wagon parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway.

Subran, the mother of eight, who lives next door, vowed to care for the surviving children. She expressed concern about the challenges ahead, as she is not wealthy and suffers from arthritis.

Lallan was the father of four, and shared the baby boy with Narine.

Narine's funeral took place on December 3. Lallan's funeral is tentatively set for December 4.

Lallan was Subran’s second son to be murdered. On December 6, 2018, her son Neil "Jacko" Bhagaloo, 33, a scrap-iron dealer, was killed at her home. Someone was charged in the case, which is still pending in court.

In September 2023, Subran’s brother, Sylvan “Puncin” Lallan and their 13-year-old niece, Andrea Lallan, were shot dead at the family’s home on Old Mayaro Road in Libertville, Rio Claro.

A villager was charged, and that case is also still pending in court.