(Trinidad Guardian) Garth Perkins’ infectious smile was known to warm those around him, but when the Jamaican national was murdered in Port- of- Spain on Monday, shock waves rippled from here to his home over a thousand kilometres away.
Former permanent secretary in Jamaica’s Ministry of Energy and Mining, Godfrey Perkins said the tragic loss of his son has left him and his family with heavy hearts.
He said, “It is very frightening, it shakes me up very badly and it is difficult to understand why somebody will want to take him, I just cannot understand why.”
In a telephone interview with Guardian Media yesterday, 78-year-old Perkins said his son, whom he described as quiet, careful and calculated did not deserve to die at the hands of a murderer.
On Monday, 34-year-old Garth, who was last employed at Estate 101, was shot outside a restaurant on Broadway in Port-of-Spain. Eyewitnesses said it appeared as though it was a robbery gone wrong.
According to the latest update from the police on Wednesday, enquiries into the incident were continuing and there were no new developments.
For the last nine years, Garth had made Trinidad his second home, returning back to Jamaica only to touch base with his family and friends for short periods of time.
Godfrey said his family has since been grappling to come to terms with the manner his boy was taken away.
“Sometimes we just sit down and wish we would get another call saying that he is still alive, but I know that is just wishful thinking.”
He told Guardian Media that the grief has only been slightly eased by the passages from the book he and his boy once would have read together.
“I am sometimes forced to just comfort myself by saying the lord gives and the Lord takes away,” he said.
As he recounted his last memories with his son, Godfrey said they last spoke before Christmas day, exchanging laughs and well wishes.
He said, “When we parted on the phone, we were happy on both sides having spoken to each other.”
Perkins added that the family has not yet been able to finalise the funeral arrangements for his son as his body was still being held by police as investigations continue.
“I would tell the police to proceed as they are, I have no reason to be concerned with the pace at which things are going.”
