Crying in London

Only Trinidad could break your heart like this.

Dead at 13 in sex attack
Enterprise shocked over torture of victim

Richard Charan rcharan@trinidadexpress.com
Tuesday, October 31st 2006

The bedroom of a vacant house was a torture chamber with no escape for 13-year-old Permanand Persad, who was sodomised and savaged by a man he considered his friend.
His head was split open when he was bashed against a wall by his killer, who tried to cut off his limbs.

His face was beaten in and his back and chest were chopped. His throat slit.

Yesterday, police said when Permanand's body was found, it was naked, except for a jersey wrapped around his face. Most of his teeth were missing. Police found the teeth in a cup.
An autopsy later in the day confirmed the sexual assault and that Permanand's spine was broken.

He was killed on Sunday afternoon at a house off Crown Trace, Enterprise, Chaguanas.
It was an act of kindness that took Permanand to the house. The suspect asked him to buy a box of food and Permanand took it to the house. Permanand lived three houses from the one in which he died.

It was raining while he was being tortured and killed. That is why police believe no one heard any screams.

The suspected killer did not go far.
When Permanand's body was found that evening by the homeowner, the killer was in the crowd that came to try and identify the boy, whose face was beaten until unrecognisable, investigators said.

A 28-year-old suspect, from the area, ate his mother's dinner and went to bed.
When police went for him at 9 a.m. yesterday, he jumped through a back window and ran to a garden camp where he spent his day allegedly smoking cocaine.

Police credited the village where Permanand lived for helping in the hunt that led to the arrest of the killer three hours later. The suspect was headed for the highway when held.

Permanand was a pupil of the Chaguanas Junior Secondary School. He lived with his aunt, Sita Ramroop, and uncle, Devan Maharaj.
His parents, Vimala and Ram Persad, were too poor to care for Permanand, and his sister, Tricia, 11. Maharaj said his nephew "was a favourite in the village. Everybody loved that boy. He was quiet and respectful".

Maharaj said the boy had worked cutting lawns to buy deyas to light around his home for Divali.
His body was found in a toilet and bathroom enclosure in the bedroom of the home of a woman who visited at 3.45 p.m.

She ran, thinking it was her son. The blood was everywhere.
Police said Permanand fought for his life.
His body was identified by his father who said: "I couldn't believe it, not my son. Look what drugs and addicts could do."
Permanand's mother said: "He would do anything for me. He was a good boy. I didn't even know it was him in the mortuary."

The killer changed his blood-soaked pants and joined them in identifying the body, villagers said.
Ramroop said: "He told everybody he would never kill a child, and then he went home."
Using a helicopter and tracker dogs, police searched a one square mile of abandoned cane field off Dass Trace, Egypt Trace and Endeavour Road. They were tipped off by several villagers who spotted the suspect in his garden shack.

Villagers had given the police until nightfall to catch the man. They vowed vigilante justice if he was not apprehended by then.

Sookoo Jaggan, who lives a mile from the murder scene, saw the police arrest the suspect.
He said: "The man was wearing a yellow shorts and slippers, walking cool, cool on the road, like he just come from hunting, when the police spot him."

Jaggan said the police snatched and searched the man, who was smiling.

Permanand's funeral will be held on Thursday.

Central Division homicide offices are investigating.