The Director of Public Prosecutions has instructed police to charge a man for the murder of four-year-old Amarah Lallitte.
Lallitte was killed on Monday and police say she was struck with an object in the head before her head was cut off. The toddler was also stabbed multiple times in the head. Her body was discovered in one room, while her head was found in a barrel at the back of the house. The suspect has been in police custody since the murder and is expected to appear in court on April 15.
On the night of the incident, Lallitte's mother, Tricia Villaruel and a male relative had an altercation at their home in Fifth Street, Arouca. Villaruel ran to the Arouca Police Station and returned with officers to find her daughter's lifeless body in the house. Speaking with the media at the Forensic Science Centre in St James on April 9, Villaruel described leaving her daughter while she went to get help as a difficult decision.
She said Lallitte was on the bed watching her tablet when the suspect attacked her and tried to drag her into a room. She said Lallitte thought they were playing and when she called her to come, she stayed on the bed.
'I had to try and get away from his grip and go to the station with the anticipation that the police would have reached there in time to save her.'
She said in the four years she has known the suspect, she never noticed any violent tendencies, nor did he display any signs of suffering from mental illness.
'He was never an angry person or a violent person, so when I discovered that he killed her, I was shocked.'
The suspect was still at the scene when the police arrived, and they detained him.
In a brief interview with Newsday on Friday, Villaruel said she is still finalising funeral arrangements.
Housing Minister: Family of murdered 4-year-old getting help
Housing and Urban Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis has said the Ministry of Social Development and the police Victim and Witness Support Unit are collaborating to provide psychosocial services to the family of four-year-old Amarah Lallitte, who was beheaded on Monday.
Responding to Princes Town MP Barry Padarath in the House of Representatives on April 12, Robinson-Regis said a joint team of four social workers, including some from Family Services in Tunapuna and Victim Support, did an assessment on Friday.
The team met with Tricia Villaruel, the child's mother, at a neighbour's home, where they drafted a crisis intervention plan.
Asked about Villaruel's statement about being denied a food card before the incident, Robinson-Regis said she did not know about this.
On Wednesday, Villaruel told Ian Alleyne's Crime Watch programme she had tried to get a food card, but was given a pamphlet on how to apply and felt discouraged by the process.
'We needed help and we were told we couldn't get help.'
She said she did not follow up because of how she was treated, saying it was a waste of time.
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