RADHICA DE SILVA
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Dexter Williams knew that a hit was made on his life, yet he never bothered to go into hiding.
On Tuesday night, the hit became a reality when Williams, 48, was gunned down in cold blood near a fruit stall at Southern Main Road, Marabella.
Police said he was liming near Fusion Bar around 11.30 pm when a gunman walked up to him and started firing. Williams started to run but fell face down a short distance away and died on the spot.
Williams, aka, “Chop Up,” grew up at Second Street, Battoo Avenue, Marabella and had a criminal record for armed robbery and drug possession.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, one of Williams’ relatives described him as a pest and menace to society. He said Williams lived a life of crime and although he was a grandfather, he never wanted to change.
“He had a police record for robberies, drugs. He was walking down the wrong path for a long time,” the relative said.
Saying there was no hope that Williams would ever change, the relative said most of them opted to have nothing to do with him.
Another relative said Williams’s parents died but he had already gone astray long before their death.
When relatives heard of his killing, they did not bother to go to the scene because they knew that one day, Williams would end up dead because of his lifestyle.
At the family’s home in Marabella, Williams’ aunt said, “I haven’t seen him for a while, in three or four months. My son called me and said he saw it on Facebook. He has brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins. We are a big family.
“There was a saying people looking to kill him, I have no idea why. If someone wants to kill him, why would he be walking around normal? He wasn’t hiding. It was surprising to hear someone or people want to kill him.”
The aunt said Dexter grew up on Second Street.
“We are a close-knit family. He used to be around the guys in Marabella.
Dexter was always miserable and was always in trouble with people,” she added.
Police said Williams would sometimes sleep at his parent’s home in Couva but also frequented Marabella where he grew up. He was a former student of Marabella Senior Comprehensive School.
Neighbours told Guardian Media that there was a homicide near William’s residence in Couva and suspected that the murders could be linked. However, the relatives said they did not think the murders were related.
Homicide Bureau Region III officers are continuing investigations.
