Police are pursuing both a political link and a connection between the disappearance of disc jockey Claude 'Choko' Hospedales and the shooting of Independent Local Government candidate for Palo Seco, Victor Roberts.
Roberts, an activist, who was shot in the chest during a motorcade on Saturday, is the brother-in-law of Hospedales who went missing in October 2011.
The activist has been very outspoken about the case, which took a new turn in October when a pond in the Santa Flora area was drained and searched for Hospedales' remains. A few pieces of clothing were recovered and have been sent for forensic testing.
Roberts remained in a stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) yesterday, as his wife, Leemoy Roberts, and his campaign manager, Pastor Knolly Marshall, monitored the election day process on his behalf.
Leemoy did not want to speak about the case which she said was sensitive. She would only say he was stable and progressing well. Insofar as the election process was concerned, she said a lot of people had been coming to the camp, enquiring about his health and pledging support for her husband.
Marshall on the other hand said the shooting had left the family uneasy, as they did know know the reason behind it. He said the shooter used the cover of the loud music during the motorcade to carry out the act.
"Right now, every thing is a blur. Nobody could say how what happen or how it happen. Most of the people did not know he was shot because it happen in a kind of forested area known as Busy Corner, Santa Flora. At that time the motorcade had become big, music was playing and somebody was talking on the loud speaker, so nobody heard the shot."
Marshall, who said he had left a short while before the shooting to attend a thanksgiving in Couva, said they did not know whether the shooting was accidental, whether it had anything to do with his brother-in-law's disappearance or with his activism and foray into politics.
"The whole campaign was clean, he delivered a powerful message to constituents about how the wealth from oil and gas was not reaching down to them because of the poor representation they have had over the years.
"He wants to bring about proper representation in the district and he is ready to do that when he gets out of the hospital," Marshall said predicting his success at the polls. Both the Siparia and Santa Flora police are conducting investigations in the matter