Acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams says there is no serial killer at large in Tobago.
He was speaking to reporters after the T&T Police Service’s graduation ceremony for Special Reserve Police of Batch 1 2015, at the Police Academy, St James Barracks, yesterday.
In the aftermath of the murder of British national Richard Wheeler, 73, and his Trinidadian wife, Grace, 67, at their home in Tobago on October 20, Williams was asked if there was a serial killer in Tobago as there were certain similarities among four incidents and murders involving foreign nationals.
Williams said, “I am not seeing any similarity by way of looking at it as a serial killing.
“We’re conducting an investigation into the last two killings in Tobago; that investigation is on.
“Coming out of the investigation there will be clear determinations whether there are any linkages to any other crimes that have occurred in Tobago over time.
“It would be irresponsible of me to speak about the linkages to any other murders that would have occurred in Tobago over the last few years.”
He said he would be effectively guided as the investigation unfolded by the Assistant Commissioner—Homicide who was responsible for leading the investigation.
Williams said it was not necessarily correct to say that mainly British nationals were being targeted, since there were other persons that had been killed in Tobago who were not British citizens. He said there was a British couple, Peter and Murium Green, who were severely injured in Tobago in 2009 and were still alive.
When Williams was asked what assurance could the T&T Police Service give to foreigners seeing these murders on the news who might think twice about visiting Tobago, he said the service had increased its presence in Tobago.
He said he recently sent 16 officers from the last batch of recruits and would continue to staff Tobago. There will also be a special tourist-oriented policing training programme in November. (See Page A7)