A perfect time to kill

Jan 13, 2019 Features / Columnists, Murder and Mystery

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By Michael Jordan

When I was seven, there was a boy in my class who constantly talked about how his mother had died, and how his grief-stricken father killed himself after burying her.
Call me naïve, but back then, I viewed this as a beautiful but tragic story about a man who preferred to join his wife in death, rather than endure separation.

It took me quite a few years to realise that this was in fact a murder story, and that my classmate’s dad was a killer.
It’s like how we got misled by some of the things that happened during that bloody period we called the ‘crime wave.’
Now that the dust has settled, you may realize that there were people who were taking advantage of that time of banditry and bloodshed to settle a few scores of their own.
What better time than a ‘crime wave’ to rid oneself of an enemy, a rival, a spouse, a neighbour…a girlfriend? Then you could blame it on marauding ‘gunmen.’ It was literally the perfect time to kill.
And why am I bringing this up? It’s because of a tip someone dropped me about a killing that happened around that same time.
Basdeo Narine, known as ‘Uncle Patrick’, and his wife, Koshmantie Singh, also known as ‘Shanta’, operated Pato’s General Supplies Wholesale and Retail Store at James and Hill Streets, Albouystown.
In the 35 years of its existence, the store owners had had no trouble with robbers.
We were told that at around seven-thirty on the night of Wednesday, March 12, 2003, Mr. Narine was tending to a customer, but then left the counter area to make some change. At the time, Narine’s wife, her two-year-old son, Hrithik Singh, a nephew, and at least one customer were also in the store.
Narine said that as he was returning to the counter with the change, he saw two men with guns trying to force their way behind the counter by smashing through a glass case. There are reports that the men had entered the store under the pretext of wanting to buy ice cream. Two other gunmen reportedly kept guard outside.
Narine reportedly said that as the bandits were forcing their way further into the shop, his employee fled to another section of the premises.
The businessman said that he ran to the upper flat, where his wife was tending their baby son.

But Narine reportedly said that one of the gunmen had apparently cornered his wife on the stairway. The gunman, the proprietor said, began demanding money and jewellery.
Narine said he heard his wife saying she did not know where her husband kept the valuables, since she did not live on the premises. He reportedly also heard her pleading with the gunmen to spare her son’s life.
Narine heard several gunshots, then silence.
Fearing the worst, Narine came out of hiding to check on his wife. He said he found her lying face-down on the stairway. She had been shot twice in each breast and once in the chest. She was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital. A customer was also shot in the leg.
For all their efforts, the killers reportedly fled with $7,500.
A few days later, Narine announced that he was closing his business and migrating, since he feared for his safety. The store was closed and Narine has stuck to his promise and migrated, though he returns occasionally.
But who killed Koshmantie Singh?
There are a few individuals who believe that there is more to this attack then appears on the surface.
Apparently working on this theory, detectives back then had questioned a man who was known to the victim. They apparently found nothing to tie him to the murder.
But there are allegations that Mrs. Singh was the target of an individual with whom she had a financial dispute.
To set up this killing, and ensure it was committed in a way that suggested that the killers were robbers, the mastermind allegedly contacted an individual from the community. That individual reportedly contacted another man to do the job. The hired gun was allegedly promised $150,000.
But after the deed was done, the ‘recruiter’ allegedly failed to hold up his end of the deal. He refused to pay the gunman. Three months later, the alleged ‘recruiter’ was standing on his back step, when someone shot him. He managed to flee into his house where he collapsed. He succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
“They got people who know what went down,” an individual told me.
It is the source’s opinion that the alleged mastermind is now enduring a brand of punishment at the hands of a higher power. It’s called karma.
If you have any information about this unusual case, please contact us at our Lot 24 Saffon Street office or by telephone.
We can be reached on telephone numbers 22-58465, 22-58491, or 22-58458. You need not disclose your identity. You can also contact Michael Jordan at his email address [email protected]

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