Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardain.co.tt
Through her grief, the mother of 45-year-old murder victim Ashton Welles yesterday appealed to those involved in criminal activity to change their lives.
Esther Welles spoke with Guardian Media at her Indian Walk, Princes Town home, one day after her son was shot and killed near his girlfriend’s home in California.
Shortly after 1 pm, police responded to a report of a shooting along Concerned Citizens Street, where Welles was found lying motionless on the roadway with apparent gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said Welles was repairing his van when a gunman approached and opened fire before fleeing.
Welles, a father of five, was originally from Indian Walk but had moved to California about eight years ago. Relatives said he was laid off last year and had recently opened a parlour and purchased a van to do transport work. They said they were baffled by the killing and insisted he was not involved in any illegal activity.
His 70-year-old mother said Welles visited the family last week and was in a jovial mood. “It’s difficult when you lose a child, but it’s worse when somebody kill your child,” she said.
With murders continuing across the country, Welles urged parents and guardians to pray for their children and appealed to criminals to reconsider their actions.
“I want to urge those who doing this thing to remember they come from a mother, because when a mother cry, it hurt,” she said. “I wish that something will touch their hearts and tell them, ‘No, that is not right.’”
Describing her son as well-liked in the community, the mother of ten said Welles had only just begun making plans for his future.
Police recovered 12 spent 9mm shells and two projectiles at the scene. Officers of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region Three, were yesterday continuing investigations into the motive and had not made any arrests.
