Cheryl Clarke and Victor Wilson
To date, police have no “conclusive” motives for the killings of Victor Chard Wilson and Cheryl Clarke, Acting Assistant Commissioner in Charge of Crime and Intelligence, Milton Desir, has said.
Desir said a number of persons were assisting police with the two homicide cases, but police have yet to identify a suspect or arrest anyone.
He made it clear that the persons who were being questioned in connection with the homicides were not suspects. However, the crime chief said the investigations are still being carried out.
When St. Lucia News Online asked Desir if he believes the killings were gang-related, he said the police have no conclusive motives at this time, but are exploring every possible lead.
Wilson and Clarke were St. Lucia’s 11th and 10th homicide victims, respectively.
Wilson, 26, of Bocage, Castries was shot in Wilton’s Yard (also known as The Graveyard) at about 5:20 a.m. on Saturday, July 4. He reportedly ran and collapsed on Chisel Street in front the Hair Factory store. He was pronounced dead at 6:10 a.m. at Victoria Hospital. Police said he sustained gunshot wounds to the neck.
Clarke, 51, of Bexon, Castries but lived at Wilton’s Yard, was shot multiple times a few minutes after midnight on Friday, June 26, 2015 at the intersection of Broglie and Brazil Street, Castries, shortly after leaving a bar (upstairs Starlite) where she had reportedly been “playing the game machines”.
She died two to three hours later while reportedly undergoing surgery at Victoria Hospital. A post mortem revealed that Clarke died from hemorrhagic shock due to multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen.
Police discovered an abandoned vehicle with a bullet hole in the driver’s door and bullet holes in the driver’s seat at the scene of the shooting.
Clarke’s husband Asher ‘BJ’ Emmanuel, 48, of Bexon, Castries but was living at Wilton’s Yard, was fatally shot on the morning of April 7, 2015 at the Chaussee Road/Leslie Land intersection. Jamie Butcher, 22, of Rose Hill, Castries was charged with his murder.
Her brother, Arthur ‘Afoo’ Clarke, was gunned down in Chase Gardens, Castries on January 27, 2011 as he exited his vehicle. He was 48.