From left to right: Helen Gobat, family Attorney Peter Foster and Theo Gobat.
The parents of slain Saint Lucian hotelier, Oliver Gobat, have alleged that “corrupt police officers” in Saint Lucia may have had a hand in their son’s murder.
Theo and Helen Gobat told the Mail Online in London that there is a “probability” that corrupt police officer here could also be part of a cover up to prevent Oliver’s killers from being caught.
The Gobats said vital forensic evidence was destroyed, just hours after Oliver’s death. They said instead of being taken away for detailed forensic examination, the Range Rover vehicle that Oliver’s body was found in, was taken to a police yard where it was left in the open.
Helen told the Mail Online, “Of course we do not have the proof, it is just our opinion, but we feel that very strongly that this is the case. When we talked with the Commissioner of Police he said it was ineptitude on the police that meant forensic evidence was lost.”
Oliver’s father Theo told the newspaper, “We feel it was corruption. It is well known that corruption is rife within the police force. The prime minister has admitted to us that corruption is a problem. We do not know who we can trust.”
Oliver Gobat.
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony had publicly admitted there were problems within the force in an interview in November 2014. The United States Government has also expressed its own concern about corruption and in 2013 suspended all aid to the local police.
The Gobats speculate that Oliver could have been stopped by police as part of a carefully planned ambush by his killers. They said something made Ollie stop his car on the night he died.
Helen said, “The doors on his car lock automatically as soon as he drives off. He would only have stopped for someone he knows or if the police had a barricade up. We don’t know what happened, but he was bundled out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger seat.”
Reports are that Oliver was on his way home from playing golf on the evening of April 25, when he was suddenly stopped in his Range Rover.
Helen remains convinced her son’s death was no ordinary murder and ruled out robbery as a motive. “Ollie was assassinated. It was a contract killing and could have been someone from England or a local person,” she told the Daily Mail.
The Gobats have pleaded for British police to be sent to the island to carry out an independent investigation. However, this could only be done if government agrees not to apply the death penalty. Dr. Anthony has since dismissed the request, stating that it is “improper”.
The family has already employed a forensic team from the UK to assist with the investigation. This was made possible through a fund created by friends of Oliver. The reward offered for information on his murder was recently doubled from EC$250,000 to EC$508,000.
Oliver was found dead on April 25, 2014 in the passenger seat of his Range Rover Evoque, burned beyond all recognition, on a remote track on the island’s exclusive Cap Estate – less than two miles from the luxury hotel he ran.
He had been shot in the head and the vehicle set on fire in what is believed to have been an attempt to destroy forensic evidence.
READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2906895/Death-Paradise-Parents-millionaire-hotelier-executed-burned-Range-Rover-fear-corrupt-St-Lucia-police-mystery-murder.html
Oliver’s body was found in this burned out car. Photo Credit: Splash News/ HTS News Force.