(Trinidad Guardian) Richard Ramlal was killed execution-style. A single bullet to the back of his head, fired at close range, was the only wound to the body, forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov, who conducted the autopsy on Ramlal’s body, said yesterday. He said the bullet, which passed through the brain stem, caused immediate death.
Ramlal, 27, was positively identified by his father, criminal attorney Selwyn Ramlal, yesterday, after the body was fished out from a river off Connector Road, La Fortune, Woodland, on Tuesday evening.
Alexandrov said based on the degree of decomposition, Ramlal was killed mere hours after he left his Couva home around 1 am on Sunday. His body was subsequently dumped in water, with Alexandrov noting species of fish, crab and snails were inside him during the autopsy.
Speaking outside of the Forensic Sciences Centre, St James, yesterday, Ramlal’s father, who has spent his entire career defending criminals, could not come to terms with the brutal death. He said he was baffled as to why anyone would murder his son, who worked with him as a law clerk while studying to be a lawyer.
He said his son was a former Naparima College student and active member of Miracle Ministries Pentecostal Church. The senior Ramlal said murder hitting home had given him a new perspective on life, noting that as a criminal attorney for 20-odd years, he had seen crime rise to astronomical levels.
“It has always been worrying to me because I live in the society too. The question is when it hits home it tells you in a different way that the level has gone beyond the stage any citizen can feel comfortable with. No one is free from the risk of the criminal elements in this country,” he lamented.
Commenting on the sluggish pace of the criminal justice system, in response to a question on whether he expected any justice, the grieving father said, “I don’t know. Justice is going to start, I believe, by proper investigations being carried out, hoping they may be able to put together the relevant pieces of evidence that may be able to first detect and sufficient enough to prosecute.”
Nevertheless, he thanked the Anti-kidnapping and Homicide units of the police service for their professionalism.