Robbery trial witness shot dead at Campden Park

The usually quiet Campden Park community of Plan Village was in for a rude awakening last Saturday, when one of its villagers was found dead in his home.

When workmen arrived at the residence of Ricardo Mattis shortly before 8 a.m. on May 17 to repair his roof, they found him lying dead in his bed, with gunshot and stab wounds to his upper body.{{more}}

The 36-year-old man, also known as “South”, was shot in the chest and once in the left side of his head. He also received stab wounds to his head and his throat.

The unknown assailant or assailants also ransacked the house before fleeing the scene.

SEARCHLIGHT was shown a photograph that shows Mattis dressed only in his boxer shorts in bed, on his back with what appears to be blood on the pillow under his head.

On the bed beside him are what appear to be an empty wallet and a spent bullet casing.

Curious visitors to the crime scene told SEARCHLIGHT that a pillow, with what looked bullet holes in it, was also on the dead man’s bed, and this, along with other items, were taken away by police investigators.

One of the dead man’s neighbours said that he last saw Mattis the night before, when they had a brief conversation. The neighbour said that just before 9 p.m. another individual called to Mattis, and he left to speak to the visitor.

According to the neighbour, when he got up the following day, he saw Mattis’ back door open, but thought nothing of it.

He said that it was when the repairmen came to house and called Mattis, and received no response, that they proceeded to enter the house.

SEARCHLIGHT was informed that the dead man had a chequered past. A former immigration officer, Mattis spent some time in Trinidad and Tobago where he ended up on the wrong side of the law, before returning home.

According to a source, Mattis was suspected in relation to a number of burglaries and robberies in the area, and was expected to give evidence for the prosecution in a robbery trial.

Mattis lived with his girlfriend and her daughter, who were not at home at the time of his death.

According to a police report, the death of Mattis brings the number of homicides for the year to 13. The most recent before this one was the shooting death of Lowmans Hill resident Kyle Phillips, who was shot while entering his yard on the night of May 6.

Two men, Jason Henry and Reuben Roberts, were held and charged in relation to his death. (JJ)