After almost 100 murders last year – 2008 started out fairly peacefully with no murder for the first half of the first Month. But the streak is over. There was an early morning killing in the city today. And this time, the victim’s loved one’s aren’t Only asking why – they’re pointing fingers and today Jacqueline Godwin found out first hand that those fingers are followed by fists. Here’s more.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Thirty year old Norman Reyes was sleeping in this sofa when a lone gunman stomped the back door open to the one room apartment and fired a couple of shots at him. Although badly injured Reyes managed to make it outside the building leaving a blood trail behind as he tried to get help but finally collapsed about fifty yards away on Berry Street in the St. Martin De Porres Area.
Odessa Belisle, Sister of murder victim
“I just heard two gunshots and then afterwards a little while after I heard people bawling out there and I went to the door and I saw it was him.”
Shelmadine Daly, Cousin of murder victim
“I was asking him who but all he said was to help him, he called me mami, he held by my hand and held me down and I stooped down beside him, because he was on his knees, and then a boy was holding a cloth by his neck and he told me to help him but he was gripping me right here with his left hand. And then after that I loosed his hand so I could try to call the police again.”
Odessa Belisle,
“Nobody saw because they came from through the back and they went from through the back. When he got shot, that is when he came out and made noise. Then people heard. They said he was talking good when he was outside.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
What was he saying?
Odessa Belisle,
“Call the police, call ambulance.”
Reyes was shot in the abdomen and neck. He died shortly after being rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. According to the family they do not know why anyone would want to kill their son and brother because they only know him as a jokester who did not wish anyone harm.
Odessa Belisle,
“Yes he is always running jokes with people. I don’t know if because of the joke but I don’t know.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
You think he said something somebody didn’t like?
Odessa Belisle,
“Must…maybe. The whole of back here, everybody here is his friend. He didn’t have any problems. Everybody who knows him, they are friends with him. So if he had beef with anybody he would have said it.”
Tracy Grant, Sister of murder victim
“But he doesn’t even have money. Everything is from hand to mouth so I don’t know why they would want to rob him or anything because sometimes he even has to come to my mom for a Sunday meal or something. So everything goes from hand to mouth, he doesn’t really have a lot of money for someone to rob him.”
Shelmadine Daly,
“We are trying to get the understanding of what exactly went on because we don’t really know. He doesn’t interfere with people that kind of way. I don’t know him to be a trouble maker and give trouble or anything like that. It is kind of hard right now, we are trying to find out. We want to know what happened because the man was in his house, in his chair sitting down, soon in the morning, minutes to six. People were just looking to get up.”
Tracy Grant,
“Well I don’t really know why they killed him because he is a really nice person and the last time he talked to us, because we don’t live with him, we live different from him, and the last time he talked to us he said Cordel was giving him $500 and a fruit shop for him to open and he will start his business. And he goes to work, he gets his work ‘piece piece’ – he goes construction, he comes back and he goes into his house. He doesn’t mess with anyone so I don’t really know why they wanted to kill him.”
But as the family were trying to cope with the loss of their loved one things escalated in the neighborhood when the victim’s girlfriend Shirlene Barrow arrived on the scene.
Shirlene Barrow, Girlfriend of murder victim
“I don’t know why they killed him. I say maybe if I was there, I would have died too because I always go there to sleep, me and my pickney because it is two kids I have. I have a son for him and I have a daughter but the daughter is not for him; only the little who I just had the other day, who is one year old.”
It was clear from the get go that there was bad blood between Barrow, her sister and Reyes’ family who strongly suspect that Barrow knows why he was killed.
Shirlene Barrow,
“Well I am not so sure because last night I didn’t sleep here because we always sleep together but I don’t know what went on. I didn’t come last night because I was supposed to come but…and he told me to bring the babies and I told him that I would bring them. I went home back and they were already sleeping so I said I wouldn’t go anywhere again and that is how I ended up staying home. I dropped asleep at home and I wake up around twelve o’clock and when I got up around twelve o’clock flies, mosquitoes, were biting so I got up and came back here to see if he is back there. When I came back, I came for a fish for him. So when I got the fish, I told him I was leaving.”
Barrow says the only trouble Reyes had recently was when police took him custody for weed possession.
Shirlene Barrow,
“After that they let him out and he came back. From then I haven’t seen him get into trouble like that.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So he didn’t have beef with anyone or a misunderstanding?
Shirlene Barrow,
“He didn’t have beef with anyone.”
Some family members however believe that Reyes was set up and that Barrow only went by the residence to see if he was home…but no sooner had we finished interviewing Barrow things took a turn for the worse. It started off with a heated exchange of words between the victim’s cousin Shelmadine Daly, Barrow and her sister that quickly got down right physical.
[Footage of Physical Altercation]
Jacqueline Godwin,
Why does the family believe that you know what happened?
Shirlene Barrow,
“Because they don’t like me. They don’t like me and they will know.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
But you don’t know what happened to Norman.
Shirlene Barrow,
“No ma’am. I don’t know what happened to him.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Do you believe that she knows anything?
Bernadine Stephens, Mother of murder victim
“I don’t think so. I don’t think she knows nothing. I don’t know nothing because I don’t live by where he lives. My son came this morning and told me what happened so I was praying for him not to die yet. By the time I reached by the river my son told me he was already dead. I don’t know what happened though.”
One thing all parties agreed on is that they do want justice.
Odessa Belisle,
“We want justice. I hope they find who did it.”
Bernadine Stephens,
“Right now my heart just feels empty because four years ago they had killed the father of my other children and it took me, I was just really getting over that so I don’t know how long it will take me to get over.”
Shirlene Barrow,
“I really want them to find out who did this. I don’t know what to do.”
Bernadine Stephens,
“I would just want the police find the one who did it and after that God will deal with the rest because then I believe in God and God doesn’t give you more than you could bear.”
But as the feuding women try to work out their differences and cope with the loss of their love done, the police have been interviewing a number of persons that they have detained and according to deputy Officer in Charge of Crimes Investigation Branch Sgt. Hilberto Romeo they may have a motive.
Sgt. Hilberto Romero, Deputy Commander – CIB
“Well at this time our investigation is suggesting that it may have been drug related and that is the motive for that shooting.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
He owed some people money or?
Sgt. Hilberto Romero,
“We are not sure of the exact circumstances. We just have information that it might have been drug related. We have interviewed several persons and we are continuing this investigation and we hope to solve this crime so we are asking the assistance of the public who have information to come forward with that information.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So should I take that to mean that you guys do not have a suspect?
Sgt. Hilberto Romero,
“We have a suspect at this time and we have detained about five persons and we are trying to establish which one of them is the person that committed this crime.”
The police say they have searched the area but so far have bee unable to locate the murder weapon.
And while police have a possible motive, no one has been detained.
