Brian Parris, who shielded his mother during a deadly cutlass attack in Rio Claro on Monday, has taken a turn for the worse. Around noon yesterday, Parris was put on life-support machines at the Sangre Grande District Hospital after his condition deteriorated. His girlfriend Lucy Farrier, who is pregnant, remains warded in stable condition.
Farrier and Parris were badly chopped by his father Patrick Steve Parris, who killed Parris's mother Julie before ending his own life. Patrick's body was found by his 22-year-old son Kevon who went to tend his animals around 9.30 am on Sunday. The tragedy, which rocked the community, occurred just a year after Julie ended an abusive marriage with Patrick Parris. Brian, who tried to rescue his mother from a barrage of chops, suffered several blows to the head. Doctors said he suffered a swollen brain and cranial haemorrhaging, while Farrier suffered chops to the hands.
Parris's niece Jessica Lovelace said funeral arrangements for the dead couple have not yet been finalised. "Right now we just running around trying to organise everything...We haven't set a date yet," Lovelace said. She said it was uncertain whether Farrier's unborn baby was affected by the attack, which occurred at Parris's Mahabalsingh Trace, Navet Village, Rio Claro, home.
An autopsy conducted on Julie's body yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James said death was due to multiple chop wounds. Parris died from asphyxia consistent with hanging. Inspector Fitzgerald George is continuing investigations into the murder/suicide.
