BY FRANCIS JOSEPH
It can only be described as one way – it was a hit.
Who did it and why is now attracting the attention of Homicide Bureau Officers. One thing though, the killer killed an innocent woman before reaching his target. The owner seemed to be the target. But a client was mistaken for the owner and killed.
The two women were shot dead at Soho Beauty Haven (Spa), corner Southern Main Road and Charlotte Street, in Couva on Wednesday morning.
They were identified as the Spa owner, Kavita Deosaran, 55, of Midway Park, Freeport, and a client, Cheryl Dixon, 64, of La Croix Street, Couva.
According to police reports, about 9.20 am, a man clad in a blue coverall, entered the spa, which was on the top floor of a mall. He was armed with a firearm. He approached one of the women and asked about the vehicle she was driving. It is unclear if the woman answered him. But then he pointed his gun at her and fired two shots. The woman, who was identified as Dixon, fell to the ground.
The gunman then went to another room where he confronted the owner of the spa, who was identified as Deosaran. Without any warning, he fired two shots at her. She too, fell to the ground. The gunman then calmly walked out of the building and escaped. No one can say where he went. One witness said the killer simply rode away on a motorbike.
When checks were made on the two women, they were dead.
The Police were contacted. Police Officers from the Couva Police Station, the Central Division Task Force, and the Homicide Bureau, arrived on the scene where they found the two bodies. Crime Scene experts also arrived and conducted investigations.
One of the shots struck the glass of the Spa. The bodies were eventually removed from the scene and sent to the Forensic Science Centre for autopsies.
No motive has yet been established and no arrest has been made.
Dixon’s younger sister, Susan Hospedales, said she did not believe her sister was the intended target. Hospedales said Dixon had spoken to her daughter earlier that morning and told her she was going to get her hair done before heading to her business.
Hospedales said the news of her sister’s killing was difficult to comprehend.
She added, “Hearing this news, it is very shocking, unbelievable. We are not safe anywhere. If you come to do your hair and you are getting shot, that’s terrible,” she said. Hospedales said Dixon’s husband and daughter were also at the scene. Dixon’s other daughter lives abroad.
She described her sister as hardworking, disciplined, determined and outspoken. Hospedales had a message for those responsible for her sister’s death. “Lives do not belong to you, so you should not take lives like that. It is God’s will to take your life. You cannot go around shooting innocent people.”
Hours later, on the company’s Facebook page, Deosaran’s family asked for privacy and understanding during what it described as an incredibly difficult period following a devastating loss. Deosaran was the daughter of Central sanitation contractor Jawahirlal Deosaran.
