Joel Rodriguez aka Yoel Rodriguez Barientos, 27, a salesman of Princess Street, Lodge was on Thursday charged with two counts of murder committed on Tara Krishnanan and her 11-year-old daughter respectively between December 25 and 26,2020 at the said address.
The murder charges were read to Rodrigues when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennon. He was not required to plea and was remanded to prison until January 18, 2021 for report.
Police arrested the Cuban national for the double murders in Amelia’s Ward, Linden on Sunday following the issuance of a wanted bulletin.
Enquiries from an individual who also occupied the said house and is the father of the 34-year-old revealed that the suspect, Rodriguez and the adult victim had an argument about 17:30hrs on December 25 and a fight ensued between them.
However, the individual retired to bed since according to him, the couple usually fights. At about 08:00hrs on December 26 the individual woke up and did not check on the victims, having thought that she went to work and took her child with her as is customary.
At about 20:30hrs, the individual after realising that he was locked inside made checks to the room of the victim and discovered his daughter and granddaughter lying motionless on a bed and ground, respectively.
The bodies which are currently at the Lyken’s Funeral Home awaiting a postmortem were discovered with a wound to the back of the head, left side temple and left side of the face on that of Tara and on the juvenile, a wound about six inches in length to her neck and what appears to be blood on her private parts. A blood stained hammer and knife were also retrieved.
