Families in Park Hill still in shock over gruesome death of two male villagers

A number of families in Park Hill are still agonizing over the death of two men, whose charred remains were found on Monday, April 8, 2024. But maybe none more so than the families of the two men.

The burnt bodies of Brenton ‘Marvin’ Barker and Calvert ‘Vert’ Smart were found by fellow villagers to the back of Barker’s yard.

Petran Barker, Marvin’s mother, also known as Deborah Barker, told SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday, that she had not eaten since she received the terrible news on Monday.

Barker who works as a domestic in the East St George constituency said she was at her workplace when she received the dreaded phone call.

“I fell to the ground when I heard what had happened.”

Barker said when she was revived, she left work and headed to the scene in Park Hill.

She related that her son and the other victim, Calvert Smart, were tied together and their bodies burnt. “They wrapped them up in a new mattress that he had and throw all his clothes and belongings and burnt them,” the mother said with grief.

Barker said Marvin, who was 31 years old, was the first of her five children.

She said she last saw him around 5.45 p.m on Sunday, April 7, when she was leaving home to attend an event. She had also seen him earlier that day when he went by her for lunch.

“When I saw him on Sunday, he was so full of life.”

Barker never expected that the next day, she would be receiving news that her first child had died in such terrible circumstances.

“This is really sad, he was like my hand and foot, we had a very good relationship,” she said.

In appealing for justice for her son, Barker remembered him as a very friendly and jovial young man.

The Smart family of Park Hill also are devastated by the loss of their loved one, Calvert ‘Vert’ Smart, who died alongside his fellow villager, Marvin Barker.

Helen Smart, elder sister of the deceased, said she was in Kingstown on Monday when she got the news of the incident in Park Hill.

“The body was burnt so badly, they were not sure it was really him, so I had to go to help identify the body,” she told SEARCHLIGHT.

Helen said she was able to identify her brother by the shoe he was wearing.

She said the family is saddened by the manner in which ‘Vert’ died.

“He did not deserve it, he was such a cool guy,” she commented.

Helen said she last saw her brother sometime after 4:00 p.m on Sunday.

Vert, who was well known for walking through Park Hill and other communities selling vegetables and ground provision, would have celebrated his 40th birthday next month.

Earlier this week, three men were assisting police with their investigation into the double murder and one person, Aldon Thomas of Park Hill, appeared in court yesterday, April 11, 2024 charged with the murder of the two men. The police said that a thorough investigation is being conducted into the deaths and they have appealed to anyone with information which can help in the investigations to come forward with that information.