Woman dies after learning great-nephew shot, killed

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – A 65-year-old woman collapsed and died soon after she had been told that her 17-year-old great-nephew had been shot and killed in the volatile Laventille area, east of here.

Relatives said that Marjorie Hutchinson, overcome by grief, clutched her chest, collapsed in the arms of her son, Michael Hutchinson, and died before she could be taken to the hospital.

The 17-year-old boy, Akil “Boo Boo” James, was shot by gunmen outside a basketball court and relatives said the murder proved too much for his great-aunt to bear, as she was still coping with the death of her daughter, Eugina Phillip, and grandson, Abraham Hutchinson, who were both shot and killed last year.

James’s body was found by officers of the North Eastern Division Task Force lying next to the basketball court, minutes after he was shot.

Police said James was hit several times about the upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigating officers said they did not have a motive for the boy’s killing, confirming he was not known to be involved in criminal activities.

James’s death has carried the murder toll for the year so far to 135