Police are baffled over the murder of a San Fernando family who was found inside their pick-up along the Solomon Hochoy Highway, Ste Madeleine, yesterday.
Up to yesterday, homicide investigators said they were still trying to piece together the evidence collected from the murder scene, but could not yet establish a motive for the murders of George Quintero, 53, his wife Carmelita Garcia-Quintero, 62 and their daughter Marisol Quintero, 33.
Reports stated that around 7 am, a passerby contacted police, informing them that three people were seen sitting motionless in a red Nissan Frontier pick-up on the shoulder of the highway.
Highway patrol and Ste Madeleine police responded and found the pick-up parked on the bridge passing over the Cipero River.
The gear was in the parked position and the headlights were still on. Officers found Quintero in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound to the left side of his face, Garcia-Quintero in the front passenger’s seat with a gunshot wound to the right side of her face and Marisol in the rear passenger’s seat with wounds to her head and chin. There were gunshots holes on the front and rear windscreen and the right-rear passenger’s side window was shattered, leading investigators to suspect the killer came from the outside.
However, it was not determined how many gunmen carried out the murders. There was also a dent on the rear right side of the pick-up but officers could not say whether it was fresh.
Southern Division police, led by Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed and officers of the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region Three, including ASP Steve Persad and Insp Darryl Corrie responded.
With the view of the vehicle exposed to the public, police parked a vehicle to block off the view, resulting in traffic gridlock. But the news horrified the many passersby and those whose curiosity got the better of them and stopped.
No one was at the family’s Block 5, Palmiste home as relatives went to the Forensic Science Centre where an autopsy was expected to take place. Both Garcia-Quintero and Marisol were unemployed while Quintero was a small contractor who serviced hydraulic equipment. Investigators said that checks did not show the family to be involved in any wrongdoing. A neighbour described them as peaceful. He said the couple would leave home daily and return before dark. However, they did not return last night.
It was believed that they were returning home from Movie Towne, San Fernando, but nothing so far indicated why they stopped on the shoulder. Passersby reported that they had seen the pick-up there at midnight, but did not notice anything strange.
Police were expected to interview relatives yesterday, with the hope of piecing together the circumstances that led to the murders.
