TWO years after his twin brother and sister-in-law were stabbed and strangled to death at their Buccoo home, Tobagonian James Mills is still struggling to come to terms with the gruesome murders.
John “Joker” Mills and his wife Eulyn John were found gagged, with their hands and feet bound with duct tape, in a bedroom at their two-storey Cocrico Avenue home, on May 2, 2019.
The brutal killings occurred the day after John celebrated his 70th birthday.
He was the Prime Minister's closest childhood friend.
Mills’s nephew found the couple in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck. At the time, he told Newsday he believed his relatives were robbed before they were killed.
Investigators said one bedroom was “disturbed” in a struggle, but there was no sign of forced entry.
The autopsies revealed Mills died of internal bleeding and strangulation and his wife suffocated to death.
James said he is daily reminded of his brother's murder
“Every time I look at myself in the mirror, I see him. Of course I would, we are twins, so how can I forget him and that way he was taken?
“He wasn’t a sick man, he was innocent – why they killed him?”
Asked if he has forgiven the killer, James said, “Yes, I forgive them – but they have to pay. Even when God forgives you, you still have to pay.”
Referring to Bible stories, he said, “When God told Moses to talk to the rock and he’ll get water for the Israelites and he strike it instead, he was forgiven, but forbidden from seeing the promised land.
“Even with David and Saul, God forgives people, but they pay…They have to reap what they sow.”
Asked if his brother would have forgiven his killer, James chuckled before saying, “I don’t know what to say about this one, because this is the worst way to kill someone.
“Sometimes it is unbearable. It reached home, so close to me.”
Last conversation
James said his brother was his personal adviser and they enjoyed conversations on politics and current affairs.
He said leading up to his brother’s death their last interaction was at his home, where they wished each other a happy birthday and recalled favourite memories.
His brother's wife was preparing food for the birthday party later that day, but he did not attend.
"I went home, relaxing, and I didn’t see him for the rest of the day.
James, who lived a stone's throw away, said he remembered listening to music coming from the party until he fell asleep.
“Between 10 am and 11 am the next day I got the news.
“The first thing I thought was: this is unbelievable. I didn’t expect that someone would come the next day to say someone murdered him and his wife in their bedroom.
He has no idea why anyone would want to harm his brother.
“He wasn’t a bad guy – never involved in anything illegal. I don’t know of him (ill) treating anybody in any way. He was a man who would always try to be a counsellor to people.
