A suspected killer was nabbed on Wednesday evening after he came out of hiding to use a village standpipe.
The man, wanted in connection with last October’s brutal killing of a St Thomas woman, remained under police guard and in stable condition yesterday at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after drinking poison.
He was being sought in connection with the death of 53-year-old Moreta Forde whose naked body was dragged by residents from her burning home at Fisherpond during the wee hours of October 31. The throat of the former corporate specialist at LIME was slashed and her other house at Groves Terrace, St George was also set ablaze around the same time.
The 50-year-old prime suspect went into hiding after he was linked to the slaying.
It was 97 days later that patrolling police officers spotted him as he used a standpipe in one of his hideouts at Easy Hall, St John.
The suspect attempted to flee but his escape was thwarted and once in custody he informed his arresting officers that he drank a poisonous substance. He was promptly taken to hospital.
After the discovery of Forde’s body, police launched an all-out manhunt for the St George suspect and spent the last three months combing bushy areas, concentrating on St John and St Joseph, for him.
The suspect remained elusive even though a few people reported spotting him in the area where he was held.
He had dropped out of sight but reports were that he lived off the land as he moved with cunning through gullies and other bush-clad ditches in territory that was familiar to him. He had grown up in the area.
However, the capture of the man deemed armed and dangerous by authorities did not cause undue panic among residents in Easy Hall, chiefly because he was known to them.
“To be honest, I wasn’t afraid because I knew him personally as just a normal person. I would not expect him to do something like that, if he did do it,” said Kingsley, who preferred to use his first name.
The neighbourhood, which has about 30 households, also includes several areas of bushy overgrowth ideal for hideaways. However, it is not usually known for sheltering criminals, Kingsley said.
Another resident, Shawn, said Easy Hall was not the type of area known for harbouring criminals. While he had also heard the rumours of the suspect being in their midst he never saw him.
Another man who preferred his name not be used said while he knew the suspect he still felt a bit uneasy at his presence in the district.
