murder

The mother of the young woman killed early Saturday morning is in grief after suffering the loss of her third child to murder.

Blanch McKenzie is the mother of 18-year-old Harrinique McPhee who was killed in the Kemp Road area over the weekend when three gunmen emerged from bushes and fired shots at a Nissan March. Harrinique was shot dead and another man who accompanied her is in hospital.

“It’s heartbreaking, very painful. The bone can’t mend. It’s happening too fast,” a grieving McKenzie told the Tribune.

In December 2020, McKenzie’s son, Alfred Bastian was murdered when four men pulled up to a residence in the Kemp Road area and shot Bastian who was standing in a group. And, in April 2021, another son Renardo Bain was one of six men killed on Jerome Avenue when four gunmen riddled their car with bullets after their release from police custody.

After the deaths of her sons, McKenzie posted in 2021 that she was still seeking justice.

“It’s a burden and they left a lot of children,” she said.

Since Harrinique has been killed, she insisted that she would not be satisfied until justice is served.

“I am not getting any satisfaction, there’s no justice, [and] no one is locked up. All I want is justice for my child because I don’t think she should have died that way.

“I don’t think they should kill a woman, a young woman. I think the police needs to get these persons, arrest them and stop letting them run free,” McKenzie said.

Harrinique was a former student of C.H Reeves Junior High School and C.R Walker Senior High School, and went on to work at Burger King on Village Road where she was due to receive the Employee of the Year award for showcasing good team spirit.

She was also a drummer at Living Word Church of God where her grandfather served as pastor.

With a little more than 2 weeks in the new year, the Bahamas is now faced with nearly 10 murders, all but one instance, occurring in New Providence.

2022 ended with 123 murders and now it seems the murder rate is set to trend upward for 2023.

Killings have taken their toll on New Providence and it is worrying that the surge may continue.

Those most impacted are young men.

The latest murder case involved 30-year-old Defense Force Officer Alvarez McCoy who was gunned down at his residence in Fox Hill on Wednesday morning after arriving home in his vehicle.

About 4 hours before that tragedy, a man identified on social media as Robert aka Wong, 32, was killed on the front porch of a family residence on Sumner Street, Red Land Acres when gunmen exited a vehicle and fired gunshots at him.

Then earlier on Tuesday morning, a man in his mid-thirties was killed in his car on his way to work when gunmen intercepted him and shot through his car window, killing him instantly.

Then Monday, in Abaco, 24-year-old John Joseph, was killed around 6.30 pm as he arrived home in Bahama Coral. A gunman shot him multiple times and fled in a vehicle.

Why is this happening?

Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander has attributed the heightened crime last year to illegal guns on the streets and bail granted to suspects charged with murder who commit other acts of violence after release.

Just Wednesday, he told reporters that the criminals charged with murder last year were already given bail and are back on the streets.

“When you look at the [number] of individuals who were charged last year, and the [detection] rate is high. You don’t see that in the world when you’re talking about over 60 percent [detection] rate with respect to homicides.

“And out of that 67 percent, you are looking at between 80 to 90 matters solved, and if you were to do your research, you would note that the majority of those individuals are on bail as we speak. That’s a problem,” he said.

“I’m talking about individuals who are on bail for two and three murders and something is wrong with that…

“Individuals who are found in possession of a firearm, 95 percent of the serious crimes that are occurring the weapon of choice is a firearm, so we want to work hand in hand with the … justice system to make sure that it works and we will do our part as law enforcement,” Fernander said.

An 18-year-old gunman was apprehended Wednesday morning after he allegedly killed a man sitting on a front porch while visiting his family in Red Land Acres on Tuesday night. 

The gunman, a resident of Kennedy Subdivision was attempting to run away after shooting Robert aka Wong, but was intercepted by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Robert was 32 years old and died on the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.

Authorities are still looking for another man who helped the 18-year-old gunman. They ditched the getaway car, a black Suzuki Swift, in bushes near the scene of the crime and tried to escape before the young gunman was captured.

A cousin of Robert described him as “soft” and “innocent.”

“No Robby, no please tell me it’s a dream. [I’m] coming and hoping to see you when I come back in the hood to hail the family. How will I see my cousin’s soft and innocent smile again?” she lamented.

“He didn’t deserve this, not him. He had a head on his body not in the streets.”

A friend last saw him at the Christmas and New Year’s Day Junkanoo celebration.

Robert is seen in the featured picture

Grief and anger have overwhelmed loved ones after the brutal killing of a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer early Wednesday morning.

Though details are limited, family and friends are reeling after the brutal killing of Avery McCoy circulated on social media.

The 30-year-old arrived at his residence in Fox Hill around 2 am when gunmen fired into the right window of his vehicle, shooting the officer, who was taken to hospital but died.

Friend Shawn-Gabrielle Gomez said, “This news still has me dizzy. I can’t believe it. Alvarez McCoy, my heart is broken.”

Another friend, Shonda Clarke said, “Now I know this can’t be real. Nope, it can’t.”

And Shanon Hepburn said, “This hurts me bro,” while Ashley Munroe said, “This better be some sick joke. What this is I wake up to?”

In 2017, McCoy joined the Royal Bahamas Defence Force where he served in the mechanic department at the Harbour Patrol Unit where his superiors described him as “energetic and dependable” showing “great interest in extending his knowledge in his craft.”

A former coworker who remembered him before his transition as an officer saw him as an inspiration.

“It was a pleasure working alongside you—them water park days. Watching you transition to the RBDF was inspiring to most of us, your team members—that there was more once we didn’t settle,” Lystra Bastian said.

Though police have not yet revealed what unfolded, his mother said he came home earlier in the night to retrieve a cooler for a Lodge meeting. On his second arrival home, she opened the house door to let him in and returned to bed. Soon after, she heard gunshots and screams from her son, who she said jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the side of the house, and collapsed.

“God is strengthening me and keeping me,” she told Eye Witness News.

When the new year rolled in, McCoy posted to social media, expressing hope for a fulfilled year. “Welcome to 2023 which marks the beginning of your season. In this season, I just want you to know that God will do more with your less. Stop worrying about what you don’t have and start thanking him cause it’s already done.

“Happy New Year. It’s winning season,” he said, not knowing that 18 days later he would meet his demise.

On Thursday, Orange County Police found the body of 29-year-old Joanna Gomez-Simo, who is a Bahamian living in Orlando, Florida.

The police were called to the home for a welfare check when family members reported that they were unable to reach her. Her boyfriend Pierre Floriant, 41, allowed authorities inside the Pointe Vista Apartments where they found the pregnant woman strangled to death in her bedroom where she lived with her four children.

Police have since arrested Floriant and charged him with murder.

What happened the day Joanna Gomez-Simo was found dead

It is not known when she was strangled to death but her phone went unanswered for days. She was found with a blanket covering her body as Floriant stayed in the home.

After the murder, he dropped off their 6-month-old child for someone to keep for the night then returned to the apartment. And when the police arrived to investigate the home after a welfare complaint was made, he opened the door to permit them inside where they found the woman, who was 20 weeks pregnant, already dead.

Floriant said he believed Gomez-Simo was cheating on him and he did not want the baby.

Pierre Floriant abused Joanna Gomez-Simo before her death

Floriant has a history of domestic abuse stemming from December of last year when he punched Gomez-Simo in the stomach and neck to abort the baby. Because she refused he said, “he would perform the abortion himself,” she reported to the police before her death.

She had reached out to the police for help in times past when she wished to pursue criminal charges against Floriant. She was recently named as a victim in a Domestic Violence Aggravated Battery case involving Floriant as the defendant.

But Gomez-Simo moved out of state and was no longer in fear for her life so she dropped the charges against him.

The prosecution office said despite her desire to drop the case, it continued to investigate the matter but stated there was insufficient evidence to move forward with criminal charges and prove the case “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Gomez-Simo admitted to police that there were two other cases that were unreported where Floriant abused her.

What are the charges?

Floriant confessed to the killing and is charged with 1st-degree murder and the killing of an unborn child.

An inspiring detail emerged after a young man was stabbed to death on Thatch Palm, Pinewood Gardens on Wednesday after 8 pm.

A good Samaritan stopped to comfort the dying man, Eric Pyfrom, and prayed for him before he took his final breath.

Marie Moxey said she did not know the 28-year-old victim but “felt great” to be able to help ease his discomfits before he passed away.

“To God be the glory,” she said.

Pyfrom was stabbed while at a home in the area. He was transported to the hospital for medical help but died a while later.

Authorities have detained a 20-year-old man from Cambridge Lane, Nassau Street and a 40-year-old woman from Thatch Palm, Pinewood Gardens for questioning in the country’s latest murder case.

Moxey said during the course of comforting Pyfrom, the woman in question ran out of the house and toward the victim to assist.

Pyfrom’s sister Sheriel Johnson confirmed that he was married to the woman who is in police custody and described a rocky relationship between the couple, adding that he moved back into the home he shared with her just three days before his death.

Johnson remembers her brother, a construction worker, for his quiet demeanor and selfless acts of kindness toward her.

Authorities have not revealed a motive for the stabbing death.

Two men were arrested in South Andros for the murder of the German man killed on Wednesday night.

The men were bought to Nassau on Friday morning after police arrived in the quiet settlement of Kemp’s Bay to investigate the case.

The men, seemingly in their 20’s, were shackled at the wrist and dressed casually, appearing oblivious as they walked the tarmac. One stared into the camera lens as he made his way to CDU for further questioning.

The man, 57-year-old Torsten Wilhelm Hendrick of Geretsried Amselweg, Germany was with two other German nationals when the masked gunmen approached them while they were outside of their summer residence in Kemp’s Bay.

The gunmen flaunted a gun, startling the men. The man ran inside the house when the gunmen fired shots, striking two of the men.

For one day, police canvassed the island and spoke to residents of the area who promised to turn over anyone connected to the case since Hendrick and his family were frequent visitors to the island for more than 30 years.

Residents said they were fond of Hendrick and grieved the loss.

Though the murder rate is seemingly rising in the Bahamas, rarely are crimes directed toward foreigners.

On Wednesday around 8 pm, a German man was shot and killed in Kemp’s Bay, South Andros, while another German national was wounded during the attack.

Here’s a look at what we know, and still don’t know about the attack:

How it unfolded

The masked gunman approached three German men who were outside of their residence in Kemp’s Bay. He flaunted a gun, startling the men. They then ran inside the house but the gunman shot in the direction of the men, striking two of them.

The gunman ran away.

The wounded men were transported to the local clinic in the area but one man died. The other victim, shot in the shoulder, was airlifted to Nassau for medical help. His condition is serious.

Motive remains unknown

The suspect is on the loose. It is not known if he is a resident of the Kemp’s Bay settlement, if he is a resident of another settlement and traveled to Kemp’s Bay or if he traveled from Nassau to the island to commit the crime.

Authorities have not provided a motive for the shooting, or whether the attack was a random act. But detectives from Nassau will travel to the island on Thursday to investigate what happened.

Authorities did not reveal the name of the victims and whether or not the men were engaged in a project on the island, only that they lived at a “summer residence.”

Fears of safety growing

Andros is typically a serene island and free of crime, unlike Nassau.

The killing sent shock waves through the community and condemnation from its member of parliament. It underscores fears that violence is directed at family islands and foreign nationals, as Nassau grapples with the increase of guns and murders.

MP Leon Lundy said he is “shocked,” “angered” and “grieved.”

The police force in the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are looking for one man who is wanted in each country for murder, drugs and firearm offences.

Brandon Rahming, a 33-year old is wanted by the Royal Bahamas Police Force for drugs and firearms and his last known address is listed as Turks and Caicos.

But he is also wanted in the British Territory of Turks and Caicos for murder, drugs and firearm. The RTCIPF believes that his last known address is a local area, The Bight Providenciales and Freeport, Grand Bahama in the Bahamas.

Rahming is known to frequent the Dock Yard and Kew Town in Turks and Caicos, which have become synonymous with crime.

As the crime wave heightens there, on Tuesday morning, a family was the latest victim of murder in the Dock Yard. A man and woman were found in a car, shot to death. The youngest victim, a 3-year-old boy later died from the gunshots and a 7-year-old girl was wounded during the attack.

Last week Saturday, another man was shot in the crime hotspot area.

Why it matters

Officers from the Bahamas went to Turks and Caicos to help fight crime in the British territory. It was speculated that criminals may be traversing between the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, though authorities have not presented that information to the public.

But on Saturday, Turks and Caicos Commissioner Trevor Botting met with Bahamas Commissioner Clayton Fernander to discuss deepening the relationship between the two countries.

Rahming is described as 5 feet, 7 inches of slim build. If you see him, you are asked to call Crimestoppers at 242-328-8477.

Despite a force bolstered with officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Turks and Caicos continue to grapple with crime, including a triple murder in which a 3-year-old boy was killed.

The British territory reached out to the Bahamas for assistance when 15 killings in five weeks rocked the British Territory. But has much improved since the arrival of 24 Bahamian police officers?

The latest murders occurred early Tuesday morning when a man, woman and child were discovered in a car in the Dock Yard area. The fourth victim, a 7-year-old girl who survived the attack, was found bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. She is receiving medical care for her injuries.

Turks and Caicos Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said his team and officers from the Bahamas and UK are investigating the “vicious, barbaric act” committed by the “heartless” criminals.

“They do not care about life,” he said.

On Monday, a man was found dead in the area of Parker’s Yard, Blue Hills, killed by gunfire.

And Sunday, a woman was shot while driving her vehicle in Millenium Heights, Blue Hills. Another vehicle stopped her and shot into her car. She was treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

Last week Saturday, another man was shot in the Dock Yard area. He survived the gun attack and was treated for the injuries.

And last Wednesday, one man died on the scene where he and another man were found bleeding profusely suffering from gunshot wounds in the vicinity of James Stubbs, Leeward Highway. The surviving victim sustained injuries to the left side of his body.

In October when a US tourist was killed while in a vehicle returning from an excursion, Botting summed it up that the killings were connected to an ongoing gang feud.

As the British territory’s murder rate spirals out of control, Botting met with Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander on Saturday in the Bahamas, to further deepen relations with the RBPF, he said.

Turks and Caicos’ murder count now stands at 32 for the year.

Photo credit: TCIPF