Hasley Goodridge, 39, described by his neighbours as a spiritual man who used to read people’s palms and give bush baths, was found tied up and gagged with his throat slit yesterday morning.
Speaking with journalists outside Goodridge’s Hillaire Street, Diego Martin, home yesterday, Goodridge’s neighbour, identified only as Grace, said she found him around 8 am yesterday after she passed by his home, saw his house open and heard loud music coming from inside.
“He used to be loose. He loved to drink his rum, have a merry time and welcome everyone he meet. If you hungry he would cook you food. He used to do little bush bath and read (tarot) cards for people and sell oil or whatever. But to say he was a violent person? No, not at all,” Grace said.
She added, “He wasn’t just a friend, he was a brother, a father, he was everything to all of us. Up to Saturday night we was liming, spending time and ketching up.”
The woman said a man, who was seen leaving Goodridge’s home on Monday night, matched the description of a man with whom Goodridge was liming on Saturday night. The neighbour said she found Goodridge’s home in a mess when she went in to check on him after she noticed his gate open. She added that she found him under the sheets, on his bed, naked.
She said the discovery caused her to run out of the house screaming that Goodridge was dead.
Also speaking with the media yesterday was Goodridge’s sister Burnessa. She said her brother was the last of five children and was a loving man.
She said, “He was a spiritual advisor and lived alone. He was a very spiritual man. He did a lot of spiritual work, he used to give people bush bath and sell oils and them kinda thing. He was a very happy and loving man. He had no children.”
Malabar murder
In an unrelated killing, police say that the murder of a Malabar man may be linked to that of his friend who was himself killed earlier this month.
According to police reports, around 11 pm on Monday night, Alexis Caleb was responding to a call outside his Richard Trace, Malabar, home when he was killed. Police said as the 33-year-old stepped outside a gunman opened fire on him. He was taken to the Arima Health Facility where he died while being treated.
Speaking with reporters outside the Forensic Science Centre, St James, yesterday, Caleb’s mother Maureen said she “get stupid” when she saw her second child lying, dying, in front her home.
“I start to bawl as soon as I hear the gunshots. I pulled the curtain and see him on the ground and had to wonder if he dead. We run out to help him,” she said, adding that her son’s best friend Neil Fortune was murdered earlier this month and she believed that the two killings were linked.
Fortune, 34, was found dead inside an abandoned house at Richard Trace, Malabar, around 3 pm on June 9. He had a wound to the head and was semi-nude, police said. Police have no motive for the killing of the two friends.
The killings of Caleb and Goodridge have taken the murder toll to 181 for the year, while that for the corresponding period last year was 198.