MURER/ SUICIDE ROCK TOBAGO
By KARL E CUPID Tobago Bureau Wednesday, December 12 2012
IT WAS A case of murder after the love had died.
A
Tobago man, enraged that his lover had brought in another man to live
at her home which he (the first man) spent money to refurbish, yesterday
chopped the mother of three to death before taking his own life by
ingesting a poisonous substance.
The murder/suicide rocked Tobago and was the main topic of discussion yesterday. Police said Belinda Solomon-Sobers, 36, had no chance whatsoever of surviving the vicious chops she received at the hands of her lover Daniel Benjamin, 56. Her 13-year-old daughter who was also chopped, is now warded at the Scarborough Hospital.
The house of death at Orchid Lane in Coral Gardens, Buccoo remained locked tight yesterday even as neighbours and passersby stopped to speak among themselves on what had transpired in the usually quiet, laid back area.
Police said the circumstances surrounding the murder/suicide were bizarre as Benjamin was married and living with his wife and family while Solomon-Sobers was also married and also had a family, yet the two were romantically involved.
Police said Benjamin was a joiner who operated a woodwork and furniture shop at his Old Grange home while Solomon-Sobers, lived about 800 metres away from him. The female victim was employed as a maid at a commercial bank in Scarborough.
Police further reported when Solomon-Sobers fell out with her husband, he left their marital home and Benjamin intensified his relationship with her. Benjamin furnished his lover’s home including all of the wooden furniture which he built himself at his woodwork shop. He also spent money to purchase household items. It was to be his home away from home just as Solomon-Sobers was his lover on the side even though he was married.
For a while things went well with Benjamin and Solomon-Sobers as they continued their relationship. But, police said, the love between Benjamin and Solomon-Sobers soured and then died when the latter told the former that she wanted to reconcile with her husband.
For several days before the murder/suicide, residents told Newsday, Benjamin confronted Solomon-Sobers in heated, physical arguments at her house. So much so, the residents claimed several reports were made to the Old Grange Police Station but officers never responded.
“She take back she husband,” stated a woman who said she was a close friend of Solomon-Sobers but who did not want to be identified.
Police reported things took a turn for the worst when Solomon-Sobers and her husband were seen by Benjamin in her house, the same place which he (Benjamin) spent time and money to “fix-up” for her.
At eight o’clock yesterday morning, police reported, Benjamin went to the house armed with a sharpened cutlass. At the time, Solomon-Sobers was changing her clothes and getting ready for work.
Benjamin forced his way into the house and started to attack Solomon-Sobers chopping her several times. She died on the scene. Benjamin then attacked and chopped the teenaged girl, severing one of her fingers in the process.
He then drank a poisonous substance and left the house. He only got as far as 200 metres from the house of death, collapsing and dying in a garden patch near the Buccoo/Shirvan Road junction. The police were then called in and the areas around the house and Benjamin’s body were cordoned off as police began their investigations. The wounded teen was rushed to hospital where she received emergency treatment.
When Newsday visited the home of Solomon-Sobers’ mother Barbara Solomon-Roberts in Canaan, relatives reported that Barbara, a mother of six, was resting and could not be interviewed. Jane Duncan, a first-cousin of the victim, told Newsday she was very upset over what had happened.
“It’s not supposed to be like that! Everybody have their life to live. You live yours and I live mine. That is not a fowl...you just can’t get up and chop up a person like that! It’s time for people to stop this stupidness,” Duncan cried.
“I am very upset and he is lucky that he chose to end his own life too because he would have gotten what was going to come to him,” the emotional woman said. Solomon-Sobers’ sister Dannielle Solomon, posted a mournful note last night on her Facebook page: “Not even a last goodbye...can’t hear her voice, can’t see her smile; in the blink of an eye...she was gone! Why?”
Investigations are continuing.
The murder/suicide rocked Tobago and was the main topic of discussion yesterday. Police said Belinda Solomon-Sobers, 36, had no chance whatsoever of surviving the vicious chops she received at the hands of her lover Daniel Benjamin, 56. Her 13-year-old daughter who was also chopped, is now warded at the Scarborough Hospital.
The house of death at Orchid Lane in Coral Gardens, Buccoo remained locked tight yesterday even as neighbours and passersby stopped to speak among themselves on what had transpired in the usually quiet, laid back area.
Police said the circumstances surrounding the murder/suicide were bizarre as Benjamin was married and living with his wife and family while Solomon-Sobers was also married and also had a family, yet the two were romantically involved.
Police said Benjamin was a joiner who operated a woodwork and furniture shop at his Old Grange home while Solomon-Sobers, lived about 800 metres away from him. The female victim was employed as a maid at a commercial bank in Scarborough.
Police further reported when Solomon-Sobers fell out with her husband, he left their marital home and Benjamin intensified his relationship with her. Benjamin furnished his lover’s home including all of the wooden furniture which he built himself at his woodwork shop. He also spent money to purchase household items. It was to be his home away from home just as Solomon-Sobers was his lover on the side even though he was married.
For a while things went well with Benjamin and Solomon-Sobers as they continued their relationship. But, police said, the love between Benjamin and Solomon-Sobers soured and then died when the latter told the former that she wanted to reconcile with her husband.
For several days before the murder/suicide, residents told Newsday, Benjamin confronted Solomon-Sobers in heated, physical arguments at her house. So much so, the residents claimed several reports were made to the Old Grange Police Station but officers never responded.
“She take back she husband,” stated a woman who said she was a close friend of Solomon-Sobers but who did not want to be identified.
Police reported things took a turn for the worst when Solomon-Sobers and her husband were seen by Benjamin in her house, the same place which he (Benjamin) spent time and money to “fix-up” for her.
At eight o’clock yesterday morning, police reported, Benjamin went to the house armed with a sharpened cutlass. At the time, Solomon-Sobers was changing her clothes and getting ready for work.
Benjamin forced his way into the house and started to attack Solomon-Sobers chopping her several times. She died on the scene. Benjamin then attacked and chopped the teenaged girl, severing one of her fingers in the process.
He then drank a poisonous substance and left the house. He only got as far as 200 metres from the house of death, collapsing and dying in a garden patch near the Buccoo/Shirvan Road junction. The police were then called in and the areas around the house and Benjamin’s body were cordoned off as police began their investigations. The wounded teen was rushed to hospital where she received emergency treatment.
When Newsday visited the home of Solomon-Sobers’ mother Barbara Solomon-Roberts in Canaan, relatives reported that Barbara, a mother of six, was resting and could not be interviewed. Jane Duncan, a first-cousin of the victim, told Newsday she was very upset over what had happened.
“It’s not supposed to be like that! Everybody have their life to live. You live yours and I live mine. That is not a fowl...you just can’t get up and chop up a person like that! It’s time for people to stop this stupidness,” Duncan cried.
“I am very upset and he is lucky that he chose to end his own life too because he would have gotten what was going to come to him,” the emotional woman said. Solomon-Sobers’ sister Dannielle Solomon, posted a mournful note last night on her Facebook page: “Not even a last goodbye...can’t hear her voice, can’t see her smile; in the blink of an eye...she was gone! Why?”
Investigations are continuing.
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