Albert Quashie's worst nightmare was realised yesterday when the remains of his son, Arnold, who went missing 18 months ago, were found buried in a makeshift grave at Parrylands, Point Fortin.
The confession of one of three suspects led police to the grave near a river in the Petrotrin oilfields.Quashie, who spent the last 18 months praying for the return of his son, dead or alive, said yesterday he was secretly hoping the outcome would have been positive.
"I am glad I have closure, but I realise that I have to face the reality and that pain all over again. Now I will be able to sleep again, knowing I will be able to put my son to rest instead of wondering if he is out there dead or alive," the senior Quashie told the T&T Guardian.
Arnold, 29, a mechanic with the Vehicle Maintenance Company (VMCOTT), disappeared in July 2013. Several leads were followed and people questioned but it was only last Friday that two men and a woman were detained by the police. During an interview, one of the men confessed to the murder and led police yesterday to the grave.
One month after his disappearance, Quashie had said he felt his son was killed and dumped in one of the oilfields where his car was found. He sought the help of state-owned Petrotrin to search their fields at that time.He also said then that one of the leads the police was investigating was that his son's death was a "hit" ordered by someone in prison because of a woman.Quashie, who accompanied the police to the gravesite yesterday, said the police did not recover the entire skeleton.
"What happened is that they buried him near a river and it seems as though when the water was running, it took some of the body parts," he said.Police said DNA tests would be conducted on the remains.The grieving father thanked all the police involved in the investigations.He added: "Even though it took a long time, they had been constantly working on the case and I want to commend all of the officers for doing a good job.
"I am glad they got the murderers off the street. I have lost my son but once police get a murderer off the streets other people's children will be safe."He also thanked Petrotrin, saying the company had cleared several of its dams to assist in the search for his son's body.