Investigations ongoing into murders of sailor, car dealer's wife

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police for South Central Wayne Mystar says investigations into the murders of coast guard officer Dacian John, 36, in Point Fortin on May 2, and O'delle Lalman-Baptiste, 30, on April 18 are ongoing.

John, of La Resource Road South, D’Abadie was shot and killed during what investigators believe was a robbery gone wrong. Reports said he was in his Audi near a friend’s house on Cassia Street, Southern Gardens, Point Fortin, around 1.15 am, when three men approached the car. Two of the men were armed and stood guard while the unarmed bandit searched the men for valuables.

John had his service pistol on him which prompted the assailant searching him to shout: "Gun!" One of the armed assailants opened fire on John before all three robbers fled the scene. His firearm was not stolen. He was taken to the Point Fortin Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2.30 am.

Relatives believe the assailants were spooked by John's weapon and fired on him in an act of cowardice.

Lalman-Baptiste of Bryce Road, Point Fortin, was kidnapped around 11 pm on April 18 when her husband came out of their vehicle along Hospital Road, Carlsen Field to urinate.

Reports said two armed men approached her husband and robbed him of cash and two cell phones before jumping in the van while Lalman-Baptiste was still inside. Police later tracked the van using GPS and intercepted it near the Eastern Correction Rehabilitation Centre, Santa Rosa, where the suspects crashed it in a ditch following a short chase.

One of the suspects was killed in the ensuing gunfight while the other escaped. Lalman-Baptiste's body was found around midday on April 19 a short distance from where she was taken. Investigators believed she was killed and dumped shortly after the robbery.

An autopsy showed she died from a single gunshot wound to the head.