The murder of outspoken journalist/television host Marcia Henville yesterday was described by former government minister Verna St Rose-Greaves as horrific and painful.
An autopsy yesterday showed that before being set ablaze, Henville, as she lay face down on her bed, was stabbed repeatedly about the face and neck, violently struck in the back of the head and her throat was slit.
Speaking to the media outside the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, St Rose-Greaves, a close family friend, said: "Blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds, that is what it (her post mortem) says.
"It is painful and horrific. We just have to try to get through this and give the children the support that they need. We cant say what is the next step."
Henville, 51, was found dead in her home at Fidelis Heights, St Augustine, on Saturday morning. Police and the Fire Services were called to the scene, alerted by a fire at the home, and discovered Henville's body in her bedroom.
At the house, there were no major visible signs of fire damage, as the fire appeared to have reached only Henville's bedroom on the upper floor.
Her husband, Sheldon Henville, suffered third degree burns about the body and is still at the Eric Williams Medical Complex, Mt Hope. Homicide detectives are yet to interview him but police sources said he was the last person to see Henville alive and is also a person "of keen interest" in their investigation.
One of Henville's friends, Rhonda Rochard, owner of the Calypso Palace, a calypso tent based in Morvant, said she spoke to her the morning she was killed. She said Henville had been excitedly talking about a short feature she had done on the tent.
She added that Henville lived for her children– Chioke, 20, and Nikeiya, 16–who were at home when the incident occurred.
"We have dedicated the entire month to Marcia because that was the last place we saw her happy. I am overwhelmed, I am happy and sad, I don't know how to feel," Rochard said.
Another friend, Stephen De Shong, added: "To me, Marcia was the most down-to-earth loving woman... caring... and would do anything for anybody without fear."
Those close to Henville said she had domestic problems and was due to finalise her divorce yesterday. They said on numerous occasions she had complained of being threatened but they never took her seriously given her bold and supposedly fearless demeanor. Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalised.
