In less than 48 hours Tobago has been thrown into mourning as a result of two tragedies that have beset two Tobago families.

Chief Secretary the Honourable Ancil K. Dennis says the incidents are shocking and horrific.  “It was truly disheartening to hear about the double murder in Les Coteaux on Friday night.  I thought to myself, this is not the kind of news we want to hear coming out of Tobago. Not at this time nor anytime.   And now in less than 48 hours, the island has been thrown into mourning yet again, due to a fatal accident this morning involving a young business man, whose family has served the Tobago community in business for generations.  I am indeed saddened”, says Chief Secretary Dennis.

Mr. Dennis extends condolences to both families; those of Kelton and Kenwyn James who were murdered in the village of Les Coteaux on Friday night (June 5) and Curtis Phillips who was involved in a fatal accident this morning (June 7) on Plymouth Road.

Chief Secretary Dennis calls on friends, family and all of Tobago to rally around these two families affected by these untimely deaths.  He says, “Tobagonians are known for being a loving, caring and compassionate people.  We must go back to the days when one cried, we all cried and when one was in pain, we all felt that pain.  This is a call for unprecedented empathy, unity and goodwill.”

Chief Secretary Dennis encourages all residents of Tobago to be vigilant in their communities and to utilise the channels provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) to report crime and suspicious criminal activity.  Mr. Dennis also encourages all of Tobago and by extension Trinidad to be safe on the Nation’s roads as well as adhere to the health and safety guidelines, especially as we gradually return to our regular lives and normal routines.

Mr. Dennis is also in high praises of the TTPS for the coordinated efforts that led to the arrests of two suspects in the murders of Kelton and Kenwyn James.

The Office of the Chief Secretary is committed to working with the TTPS in its endeavours to maintain law and order in Tobago and to keep crime at a minimum.