(Trinidad Express) Charges are yet to be laid in the case of the suspect who bit chunks off a baby’s cheek and leg on Sunday at an East Dry River home.
Yesterday he remained in police custody who were still gathering evidence in the matter.
The Express yesterday visited the home of Tineka Henry, who is the mother of five-day-old baby girl, Jinayah and was shown the bedroom where the infant was attacked.
The bloodstains were gone, but the room appeared messy.
Tineka Henry remained hiding in the house yesterday and offered no comment.
Another cousin asked that the media leave. Jinayah’s great-aunt, Marcia Guy, said she did not believe in sweeping the issue under the carpet and wanted to tell all.
Asked about the suspect, she said he had been dating Tineka Henry for the last two years and he was a familiar face.
She was unable to say however what led to his actions Sunday morning.
“I cannot say if he was hungry or if he is a cannibal. I can say that the police arrested him on Sunday,” said Guy.
She said on Sunday morning when the incident occurred it was she who retrieved the bloody, almost motionless body of the baby and ran out Smith Place on to Picadilly Street, where a complete stranger and his wife rushed them to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope, where the baby was immediately admitted.
“I did not even get to thank those people that took us to hospital,” she said yesterday.
It was confirmed yesterday by an employee of Flow that the 25-year-old suspect works at the company as a cable repair technician.
The Express understands he has already retained the services of an attorney and although not yet charged for assaulting the newborn he is expected to appear before a Port of Spain magistrate this week as investigators are expected to consult with the Director of Public Prosecutions either today or Wednesday.
The suspect remains at the Central Police Station, Port of Spain, but the case is being investigated by the Besson Street CID spearheaded by Senior Supt Wayne Boyd.
As Guy continued recalling the events of that Sunday she explained, “The child had no movement. No kinda movement with the baby and when I reach in the van and I sit down the baby just do so (moved her arm).”
“I called to her ‘Pinky Pinky, red woman, red woman stay with me, stay with me’, and he (the good Samaritan) drove faster with the horn blowing straight to the hospital,” said Guy.
Guy continued, “Everybody just sad and they want to know what happened. Why these men and them have to be like this? He never gave a sign that he would have done this because as a family when the baby was born we were all at the house together, so I don’t know him to be ignorant like this,” she said.
The Smith Place neighbourhood was not happy about Sunday’s incident. Some speculated that the suspect is mentally ill.
A neighbour, Curtis Moore, recalled an incident in which the suspect had beaten the then-pregnant Tineka. The neighbours beat him on that occasion and she had begged that they spare his life.