Police provide update on autopsy of Park Hill men

UPDATE: April 16, 2024 5:30 pm 

Initial information received from police sources within the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) indicated that the two Park Hill men found tied and burnt had died as a result of chop wounds and burns.

However, updated information from the Police Public Relations Department has officially confirmed that while the men sustained chop injuries as well as extensive thermal injuries, it was determined that both victims were deceased prior to being burned.

The charred bodies were discovered in a heap last Monday, April 8, 2024 and were later identified to be those of Brenton “Martin” Barker and Calvert “Vert” Smart.

One of the relatives of the deceased revealed that the men were wrapped in a new mattress and were burnt along with Barker’s clothes and belongings. The burning occurred in the yard of Barker’s house.

Days after the discovery, the police apprehended three men were for questioning. Murder charges were brought against one man, Aldon Thomas, also a Park Hill resident.

Back in 2021, Thomas, along with Zane Lewis, was arrested and charged with the killing of Park Hill bus conductor, Travez Fernandez. The body was discovered at South Rivers with a wound to the neck.

In November 2023, Thomas was freed of the murder charge after he won the trial based on “inconsistencies of the main prosecution witness Zane Lewis”, according to his lawyer, Michael Wyllie.

The Prosecution later withdrew the charges against Lewis.

Thomas was remanded into custody when he appeared in court on Thursday, April 11, 2024.