(Trinidad Guardian) Police probing the death of a 90-year-old woman, who was beaten to death with a hammer on Thursday at her Warwick Lane home in Belmont, said she was killed by an outpatient from the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital. Eledica Cudjoe, the mother of two, who was bedridden, died of multiple injuries and broken limbs, police said. Her son suffered a broken finger and other injuries when he was also struck by the assailant.
Up to late yesterday, a 46-year-old man, who was held soon after while still on their property, remained in police custody. A report stated around 9.30 pm, a man unknown to the family came to their front gate and asked for a group of people. Police said Cudjoe’s relatives told the man they did not know who he was asking for and closed the gate.
In a fit of rage, the suspect reportedly broke down the gate to the driveway and came into the yard. Cudjoe’s son, who heard the commotion, came outside and was beaten with part of a bicycle that was in the yard, police said. The suspect then allegedly went into the street and picked up a piece of a metal from a wheelbarrow and attempted to beat Cudjoe’s son. The suspect then went to the front door and broke down the door. He then went into the house and began to beat Cudjoe about the body with a hammer.
Jasmine Jacob, the victim’s daughter and the former principal of several schools in Port-of-Spain, said relatives called the police but were given a run-around. In an interview at the family’s Warwick Lane home yesterday, Jacob said: “They were calling the police and kept getting transferred. So they called me.
“They blocked the door with a cupboard to keep him out and I had time to go straight to Belmont Police Station and cry for help.” She said the police did not know the incident was still going on at the family’s home. “They went to the house and the man was still on the premises and they held him,” Jacob said.
“The people that the man was asking for don’t live here, so he thought they were lying and broke down the door and did this,” she said. She said Cudjoe spent a lot of her time at church and led a spiritual life. “She was part of the choir and women’s fellowship and she liked gatherings,” Jacob said.
She described Cudjoe as “a resourceful woman, who could relate to any old-time thing, and was always friendly and jovial.” Up to late yesterday, police officers were seeking a psychiatrist from the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital to evaluate the 46-year-old suspect. The suspect’s relatives told detectives that he was hospitalised last year, but was now an outpatient and stayed at home. Homicide officers are investigating.
