Businessman robbed, beaten to death in Curepe, Trinidad

Businessman robbed, beaten to death in Curepe

BY INDARJIT SEURAJ

Police are now searching for a former employee of a Curepe businessman, after the businessman was found murdered in his upholstery shop.

Ricky Mohammed, of Cunupia, was one of two people killed over the last 24-hours, the other being the slaying of Cocorite resident Kelvin “Kello” Holder.

The killings brought the murder toll for the year to 273.

In the first incident, when phone calls to 53-year-old Mohammed went unanswered Wednesday night, little did his relatives know he had been beaten and left for dead.

It was only after they went to his Southern Main Road, Curepe, businessplace did they find his battered body.

Mohammed, of Cunupia, was found murdered at his Rishaad’s upholstery shop around 7.15 pm that night.

Investigators believe the upholsterer was robbed as several items had been taken from the shop, along with his car, a Toyota Corolla.

Now investigators are calling on anyone who may have seen the white PBH 7189 Corolla to come forward and assist in apprehending the perpetrator.

Sources said a suspect resembling a former employee was seen driving off with the man’s car.

Mohammed’s business was sandwiched between two adjoining businesses.

Investigators could not confirm what time he was killed.

Visiting the scene were a team of Western Division officers, including Supt Badal and Insp Henry Dann; Homicide detectives ASP Denoon, acting Insp Jayson Forde and acting Sgt Michael Veronique; and officers of the Western Division Task Force.

—Anyone with information in either of the murders can call Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.

Businessman killed, car stolen
Family makes gruesome discovery
Gyasi Gonzales ggonzales@trinidadexpress.com


A businessman was beaten repeatedly over the head on Wednesday morning, his car taken and he was left dying on the floor of his Southern Main Road, Curepe, upholstery shop.

Rasheed Mohammed's family was none the wiser, as calls to his cell phone went unanswered for the entire day. They eventually made the grim discovery of his body when they broke open the door to his businessplace around seven o' clock that night.

Police investigators believe that Mohammed, 53, of Rishaad Avenue, Munroe Road, Cunupia, may have been ambushed by men posing as probable buyers of his 1991 Toyota Corolla, which he was selling. His attackers left with the car.























bad news: Relatives of Rasheed Mohammed
console one another in front of his business
place at Southern Main Road, Curepe, on
Wednesday night.

Mohammed was one of three people killed Wednesday night into yesterday, pushing the murder toll to 274. The other people killed were Aneela Persad and Kevin Holder. (See other story)
At the scene on Wednesday night, one of Mohammed's relatives, who asked not to be named, said the last time they saw him was sometime around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, when he dropped his daughter off to work at the Tunapuna Administrative Complex.

It is assumed he then went straight to his upholstery shop, Rishad's Upholstery, which is adjacent to a United National Congress' constituency office. Police speculate that his killers came some time after 7.30 a.m.

Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Mohammed's daughter got home. She spoke with her mother and brother, and her mother told her she could not get her father all day. They also spoke about one of Mohammed's sisters going over to the shop to collect a cushion, but she too could not get him.
The daughter and a neighbours went to the Curepe shop. The car was not there and the gate of the businessplace was locked. They then went to the St Joseph police and returned to the shop with the officers, broke open the door and found his body lying next to a work bench. Besides his head injury, Mohammed also had bruises about his body.

Mohammed's relative described him as a dedicated family man.

"For years, he struggled with the business and was only now beginning to see his way. Why would they want to kill him? They could have taken the car and go ... they didn't have to kill him."
An autopsy on Mohammed's body was unable to be performed at the Forensic Sciences Centre in St James yesterday, as there was no pathologist available.

The autopsy is expected to be done today, after which he would be buried.