The niece of Steve Martin Bayne, who reportedly shot himself in the chest with a double-barrelled shotgun, says she has a hard time believing the story of how her uncle met his death.Speaking with members of the media outside the Forensic Science Centre in St James yesterday, Bayne's niece, who wished not to be named, said her uncle was never the type to make tea and found it strange that he shot himself flawlessly in the chest with a shotgun.
Bayne, 45, of Coconut Grove Village, Ortoire Village, Mayaro, died at the Sangre Grande Hospital on Sunday while undergoing emergency treatment.It was alleged that Bayne had earlier served a cup of tea laced with a poisonous substance to his wife, Neltia Abraham, at their home around 7 am. Police were told that after taking the first sip, Abraham complained the tea had a bitter taste and shortly after she complained of feeling ill, began to vomit then came down with a bad case of diarrhoea.
Bayne is reported to have taken Abraham to the Mayaro District Hospital, left her there and then returned home where he killed himself.However, the sequence of events, the niece said yesterday, did not add up.She said her uncle was a fun-loving, easygoing man who loved hunting.The father of five, she said, never kept his firearm loaded in the house and never exhibited signs of depression to anyone before Sunday's events.
She said her grandmother was told of her son's death by a female relative of Bayne, who said he had locked himself in the bathroom before committing the act.Bayne's niece said her uncle was the most humble man alive and was a valve technician by trade, working on offshore oil rigs.She said having been around guns for some time, she said it was disputable that her uncle would be able to shoot himself "so clean" with a weapon of such length and powerful recoil.
An autopsy report said Bayne died as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest. Further testing for gunpowder residue on his hand is expected to be done later, Bayne's niece told the T&T Guardian yesterday.