Elderly man found dead in St Thomas home

The apparent killing of 72-year-old Simion Carlisle Legall at his Spring Farm, St Thomas home has left his neighbours in shock and in a state of fear.

A concerned elderly resident told the media she was struggling to come to grips with the death of the well-known pool builder whose body was discovered by his sister Gothlene Hinds, around 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Reports indicate that Legall was shot.

The resident, who lives alone, said she is now living in fear in the usually quiet community where neighbours are known to look out for one another.

“It hurt everybody. It got me frightened, and that is the truth…. I just got this kind of fright. I’m really frightened because sometimes the children don’t be here and I does be in here myself, you understand. So I would got to get frightened when them ain’t here,” she said.

The elderly woman said that when one of her relatives had informed her Legall was dead, she initially thought it was due to natural causes since he was recovering from a stroke.

“He was a cool fella. Well, I never hear he and nobody had it as long as I did living here and I did living on this land since 1973. He would pass, he would speak, he would talk with you sometimes and just move on. But otherwise, we don’t got no noise,” she said.

The resident noted that just last week, while in a conversation about the spike in gun-related crime in Barbados, she had commented that such activity rarely occurred in her community.

Although she admitted there are times when neighbours argued, she said the residents generally lived in harmony.

“All of we out here is family, everybody look out for one another. We don’t got noise, nothing so we don’t got out here. If it is a noise, and not really a noise, you stand and hear the fellas up the road arguing about football, cricket, and horseracing, but otherwise, everybody does live good up here. This is the first time that we ever had anything so and it shocked everybody out here,” she said.

Other residents in the area also said they were saddened by the way Legall died.

Former opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn who told Barbados TODAY he knew Legall for many years and spoke to him occasionally, said it was unfortunate that the stroke victim was killed while he was in such a vulnerable state of health.

The Barbados Police Service is appealing to anyone who can provide information pertaining to Legall’s death to contact the Criminal Investigations Department (Northern Division) at 419-1737 or 419-1730, Police Emergency 211, Crime Stoppers at 1800-TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station. (AH)