“She had so much more life left to live,” a relative of British actress Viscella “Vikki” Richards, who was found dead at her Valsayn home on Wednesday evening, said yesterday.
The female relative said although Richards was suffering from dementia, she continued to celebrate and embrace life.
The woman, who did not want to be identified, spoke with reporters at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, after identifying the late actress’ body.
Richards, 79, was found with her hands bound and lying on the bedroom floor of her Valsayn Avenue home. Relatives said a quantity of her jewellery was missing but they did not know if anything else had been taken, as the house was ransacked.
While there were no other marks of violence about her body, police officers said there were bruises on her face but it was not known if they were caused by a fall, or if she was beaten or had struggled during the robbery.
The T&T-born actress, who built a career on the theatre stage in England after migrating at age eight, was described as “a very interesting person ... outgoing and outspoken”.
Locally, Richards had hosted a local show, Building Your Dreams, as well as productions at the Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook.
She had returned to T&T in January after travelling to the UK in December.
Richards, who had no children and lived alone, had been residing in Trinidad for the past 20 years. Her body was discovered by a friend who went to check on her after calls to her cell phone went unanswered.
