Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt
Kidnap victim Andrew Persadie is believed to have been strangled to death with tie straps after he was abducted from his San Fernando home by two masked men on Independence Day.
The motive for his murder remains unclear, but police are now treating the death as a kidnapping homicide.
Persadie, 42, of Carnelia Crescent, Union Hall, worked as a driver with DH Movers. Investigators said he was leaving his home around 5.30 am to go to work when two men wearing masks accosted him.
They placed tie straps on his hands and forced him to walk in a westerly direction. His family quickly alerted the police as well as the Hunters Search and Rescue team led by Captain Vallence Rambharat. Immediately, a search party, including Rambharat’s son Kriston, Ronnie Singh, and Kesraj Sooknanan, was mobilised and began combing the area.
Around 12.15 pm, officers from the Ste Madeleine Police, including Sgt Martin and PC Seepersad, received reports that a body had been found near the pond. Speaking to Guardian Media, Kriston said that when they arrived, the police were already on the scene.
“Hunters Search and Rescue team had been searching near the station in the Petite Morne area since this morning when we received information that a body was found about 333 feet from the edge of the pond,” he said.
Police told Guardian Media that the tie straps were wound tightly around Persadie’s neck, so he might have been strangled.
There were no other marks of violence on the body. When his relatives arrived, a woman began wailing loudly.
“He was going to work when they took him,” she moaned before collapsing on the ground. Other relatives said they were not ready to talk to the press.
The body was viewed by the District Medical Officer, who ordered it removed to the Forensic Science Centre. On Facebook, several friends and well-wishers offered condolences to Persadie’s family.
Anyone with information on Persadie’s death can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-TIPS.
