A 23-year-old man reported missing by his relatives three days ago was discovered dead in an abandoned house in Laventille on Monday. Miguel Gaskin, a security guard from Sarah Lane, Laventille, was found shot dead by police in the abandoned Church Street house. Gaskin’s godmother, Lisa Huggins, told the T&T Guardian he went missing on Saturday after helping a neighbour paint his home.
“He was by his neighbour helping them paint. I called him to give him a plaque to take to his grandmother and that was the last time I saw him,” Huggins said at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday. According to police reports, at about 5.30 pm on Monday residents called them to report a foul stench coming from the abandoned house. Upon investigating police discovered Gaskin’s decomposing body with visible gunshots.
Yesterday, Huggins described Gaskin as a loving person who was always willing to help others. She added: “Miguel was loud but he was loving and nice. He was not that type of person to be involved in anything (criminal activity). “He just liked to lime and make jokes. It is shocking that someone will want to kill him.” Huggins said before Gaskin went missing, two men from the neighbourhood said a man was chasing them down with a gun. However, she could not say if that was related to Gaskin’s case.
“On Saturday we heard firecrackers, followed closely by gunshots. Then, I did not know what to think,” Huggins said. Gaskin’s mother died when he was a baby and Huggins said his father was not involved in his life. He was raised by his grandmother and aunts with whom he resided until he went missing. “His grandmother is in a state right now. She loved that boy so much. He was a good youth. He never interfered with anyone,” Huggins said.
T&T Guardian visited Detour, Gaskin’s former place of employment, where a worker who asked not to be named expressed shock at the man’s death and also stated he was friendly and kind. “He was a really nice person. He was a lot of fun. When we found out this morning the entire place was down.”