ELIZABETH GONZALES
Tobago Correspondent
Tobago police suspect a domestic dispute may have been the motive behind the murder of 40-year-old Janelle Thomas of Signal Hill, who was doused with gasoline and set on fire in Mt Irvine yesterday morning.
A man is in police custody in connection with the killing.
A senior officer told Guardian Media that the man first walked into the Shirvan Police Station, just before dawn, to report he had discovered a body. He then led police to the scene at Glen Eagles Drive, Mt Irvine, where police found Thomas with her feet bound lying in a drain.
Police detained the man soon after they noticed some discrepancies in his story.
Thomas was pronounced dead on the scene and her body was taken to the Scarbrough Mortuary for an autopsy.
Her murder pushed the island’s tally to 11 for 2023. Tobago’s murder count has now reached a record high in 2023. For the same period in 2022, the island recorded ten murders. The toll has not crossed ten in almost a decade.
Head of Tobago Police Division ACP Collis Hazel told Guardian Media it is a sad time for Tobago.
He said, “It was a domestic murder, the perpetrator has been arrested. Like anything else, we cannot get in the bedrooms of people where these things are happening. It’s very saddening, however, it’s being investigated. We understand the woman was doused with fuel and set ablaze.”
At Thomas’s home, her mother was too distraught to speak. However, a relative said the ordeal has left loved ones devastated.
Residents, who did not want to be named, said they were torn over the news. One woman said she knew Thomas and the alleged perpetrator well.
“I don’t know what happened. I feel she (Thomas) tried to leave and, well, this is how it ended.”
Another resident said he was left speechless by the incident saying Thomas did not deserve such a tragic end.
Tobago House of Assembly representative for the Signal Hill district Nigel Taitt said he was trying to cope.
“I am also grieving right now because I know both of them personally. It’s hard and heartbreaking for me at this time.”
Leader of the Progressive Democratic Patriots Watson Duke said he was worried and traumatised as Tobago reached a grim milestone in its murder rate.
“It is a loss-for-loss situation. Nobody wins. The victim is dead, the family is in mourning, perhaps children are involved and the alleged perpetrator has left his family in confusion. They are worried too about bail and lawyer.
“It calls into question police work. Police work needs to be accompanied by social workers. A lot of our problems are problems persons are not talking out, so we need these social workers to infiltrate our society,” Duke said.
Duke said it was time for Tobagonians to learn to thrash issues out in a civilised manner.
“Murder is not an option ... As much as you may be angry and wish to make a statement that would send chills through society, murder is not one of the options. We need to work out and talk out differences.”
Chief Secretary Farley Augustine could not be reached for comment.