Thread: SGU Med Student murdered in Trinidad

I hesistated about posting this because of the "bad publicity" this may give to SGU or the Caribbean region in general (based on my experiences with many students' perceptions of the area), but I'll say straight out that anyone that feels that way is an idiot.

Crap like this can happen anywhere.

My thoughts and prayers go out to family and friends and I hope the offenders are brought to swift justice.

The teenage son of a St Augustine doctor was murdered in Caura on Monday night.

Two of the men allegedly responsible for the killing, were held by police after they crashed a vehicle stolen from the victim.

The victim's father said yesterday he believed it was a kidnapping gone bad, "a kidnapping met with too much resistance".

Dead is 18-year-old Mark , son of Dr .

, a second year medical student at St George's University, Grenada, was home for the Christmas holidays.

Police reports indicated that , of Ridgewood Drive, Santa Margarita left his home around 9.30 p.m. to go to Royal Castle, Curepe to buy fried chicken.

He was driving his father's Toyota Rav 4 vehicle.

He went into the fast food restaurant, made his purchase and was entering the vehicle when three men overpowered him.

They got into the vehicle and drove to an area in Caura where they bashed his head in and stabbed him several times.

The men then left with the vehicle.

Later that evening, officers from the Maloney Station responded to a road traffic accident on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway.

The men in the stolen Rav 4 had crashed the vehicle on the highway.

When police arrived on the scene, there were not three, but only two men in the crashed vehicle.

They interviewed the pair who took the law officers to a canal in Caura and showed them the location of Rattan's body.

The two men are from the Maloney and the Champs Fleurs areas.

The third man has not yet been held.

Minister in the Ministry of Finance Christine Sahadeo, a close friend of the family, said and her daughter went to school together and his murder was "very distressing".

She visited the family at home yesterday.

Speaking with the Daily Express yesterday Dr said it was his opinion that his son's death might have been a kidnapping gone bad.

"My son was not the submissive type. I am sure he died fighting. I think what happened is that it was a kidnapping that was met with too much resistance."

However, he said if he had the foresight, knowing the type of person his son was, he would have told him not to fight.

Dr also said he saw the two men police have held for the crime.

"They look like they are in their 20s. They don't look like professionals."

He said he did not believe that his son was targeted, but said he thought it was a random attack.

Dr said his wife was taking the death very badly.

"She is not handling it well at all. I am trying, but she is not handling it well," he said.

He said his son was due to return to school in the first week in January.

"I mean, what can I say, he really was a lovely boy. He was a lovely son."

Cpl Parks of the Tunapuna Police Station is continuing investigations.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com

edited for names.

Actually, I question something in this article.

They say he's 18 years old and a second-year med student?

I know a Trinidadian girl in my class that's 19* (starting 2nd year in Jan) but unless he graduated a year early, that's pushing it. This person also is not in my class, I don't think (there's a pic of him posted with the original article) since I've never seen him and the name isn't familiar, which would make him 2nd year either going on to St. Vincent in Jan or just having finished. Anyone know this individual or might he have been pre-med and the article screwed up?



* Possible since grad age in the Caribbean is 16 or 17 (maybe 17/18 now, but I graduated at 16 going on 17) and if I didn't screw around during undergrad and take 7 years with two major changes, I'd have been in the same boat (16 + three year undergrad program at SGU; provided I didn't go to Canada for my undergrad like I did).

Actually, as an aside, I'd have graduated at 15 if my mother and teachers didn't decide to have me repeat a year when I was 5 so as to not have that happen. 15 + 3 (undergrad at SGU) + 4 (med) = doctor at 22

Sweet!! As is, I'm going to be freaking 29.

Oh well, the experience and supposed maturity are worth it. That's what I tell myself anyway...

he wasn't a med student, he was in the undergrad program.

very very sad. thoughts to his family and friends.

very sad.....prayers go to him, his family and friends

Bhavna is right, he was in the 2nd year Pre-med program. He was a very nice and funny guy. It's really really very sad. There's also an article on it here : http://www.guardian.co.tt/news10.html . Hearty condolence to his family.

condolences and prayers to the family thru such a difficult time.

sad, very sad. hope for this family on this holiday season.

Thanks for clearing up that he was undergrad. Not that it matters cause it's still a tragic event, but I was wondering.

may God rest his soul...and condolences to his family as well...what a tragic story