A former taxi driver said yesterday that when he went home nearly nine years ago, he found his mother, wife and two children dead outside the house.
Lyndon Garcia was the first witness to testify yesterday before Justice Devan Rampersad in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Criminal Court. Harrylal Matthew, 44, is charged with the murders of Katherine Garcia, 62, Alicia James, 28, Dillon Garcia, nine, and Giselle Garcia, four, on May 5, 2001, at Mundo Nuevo, Talparo. State attorney Jennifer Martin is prosecuting, while Osbourne Charles, SC, Owen Hinds Jr and Jerome Herrera appear for Matthew. The trial continues today. Garcia said that on the day in question, he left home around 5.30 am to take his father to the market. Shortly before 10 am, while on the Arima taxi stand, he got a message and rushed home. He said: "When I got there, I saw my wife, Alicia James, lying in front of the house. She was covered with a white sheet. When I removed the sheet, there were chop wounds to her back. There was blood leading to the garage, she appeared to be dead." Garcia said he then saw his mother, Katherine, lying on the ground in the garage. He said she had chop wounds to her neck, and she, too, was dead. Garcia saw his son, a paraplegic, sitting in a wheelchair with his face down. "I saw a stab wound to the left side of his neck. I then saw my daughter, Giselle, lying on her back in the garage, and she appeared to be dead."
Garcia said two policemen were present and after speaking to them, he handed over a firearm. Two days later, he went to the Forensic Science Centre where he identified the four bodies. On May 11, 2001, he attended the funeral service for the victims at the San Rafael RC Church. Garcia's brother, Dennis, said he went to cut grass some distance away from his parents' home. About two hours later, when he emerged from the bushes, he saw a crowd near the house. He went and inquired and saw the bodies. All four people appeared to be dead. Dennis said he knew someone called Harrylal Matthew. When told to look around the court and see if he could identify Matthew, Dennis took a long time before saying, "I don't see anyone like him here today." Under cross-examination, Dennis remembered giving evidence at the preliminary inquiry at the Arima Magistrates' Court. But he could not remember signing his deposition. When he was shown his signature on the deposition, Dennis replied: "It does not seem to be my signature. To me, it don't look like my signature. That was ten years ago, you write differently."
Dennis insisted that he never signed anything at the Magistrates' Court. But another witness, Barry De Four, identified Matthew who was sitting in the dock. He said he had known him for 15 years at the time of the killings.
