Drug link not ruled out in Westmoreland deaths
BELMONT, Westmoreland — Twenty-one year-old farmer, Marlon Gooden, was found dead at his home yesterday, becoming the second person to be chopped to death in the Belmont area of the parish since the start of the week.
Gooden’s neighbour, fisherman Everton Cottrel, 51, was found chopped to death under an ackee tree in his yard at about 6:00 am on Monday. His body was discovered by a neighbour who was on her way to the store; he was last seen alive at about 5:00 pm Sunday night.
The Savanna-la-Mar police have not ruled out a connection between the two killings and a record ganja find in the community last week.
Reports are that Gooden was last seen alive at about 10:00 pm Wednesday night, at his brother’s grocery shop. He left, saying he planned to make an early trip to his farming field the next morning.
Tenants who share a house with Gooden reportedly heard groaning sounds Wednesday night but were afraid to investigate. His body was found at about 7:00 yesterday morning, about six feet from his doorway by another farmer who reportedly went to his home to meet him prior to the planned trip to the fields.
According to Observer sources, Gooden was allegedly called out of his house by his assailant(s) who chopped him in the back of the neck and head. Yesterday, his body was removed to the morgue.
And while no official link has yet been made between the two recent machete killings, Belmont has, in the past, had its fair share of drug-related murders.
Two years ago, a series of killings followed a $1.25- billion cocaine bust in the once quiet fishing village, leaving residents in fear.
Last week, police seized 1,220 kilogrammes of compressed ganja, bundled in 51 bales and hidden in bushes in the community. The contraband, which was discovered in a cave during a joint operation between the military and the police, had an estimated value of $10 million.