(Trinidad Express) A couple who police said entered Trinidad three days ago were found murdered yesterday in a forested area in Brasso, Central Trinidad.
The body of the woman was identified late yesterday as that of Gladys Otiz and the man as Jose Vasquez Marcano, both of Latin American descent. They were found with multiple gunshot wounds in the head and upper body.
The bodies were found lying on the roadway near an agricultural estate off Flanagin Road.
The district medical officer who examined the bodies said they may have been killed less than 24 hours before the discovery.
A Toyota Corolla was found abandoned less than a quarter mile away, with a suitcase in the trunk.
The vehicle was found near a tree which had fallen across the roadway.
Investigators suspect the couple were taken to the area by their killers for execution since the car’s interior was not blood-stained.
However, the escape route was blocked by the tree and the killers abandoned the vehicle and continued on foot.
Heavy overnight rainfall, however, may have washed away evidence at the scene, police said.
According to police, the bodies were discovered by a man as he walked to his workplace at Manchoon’s estate. The man told police he first saw the body of the woman and called a relative to contact the police. The estate worker said he walked a few more steps and found the man’s body.
The woman was shot three times and the man six times, police said.
A party of police officers from the Homicide Division (South), Brasso Police Station and Central Division Task Force, led by Senior Superintendent Cyril Harry and Johnny Abraham, Sgt Tooleram and Cpl Barrow, visited the scene.
Police suspect the couple might have recently entered Trinidad from South America.
Their deaths take the murder toll for the year to date to 290.