A 25-year-old man who volunteered with the Barrie-Innisfil Conservatives' electoral district association board has been charged with three counts of murder in Trinidad and Tobago in the shooting deaths of his mother, grandmother and brother.
Rakesh David, whom police say holds Canadian and Trinidadian citizenship, was expected to appear before a Port of Spain Magistrate on Friday on three counts of murder, as well possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of firearm to endanger life, and possession of ammunition to endanger life.
Police on the Caribbean island say the murders occurred on Friday, Sept. 24 and each of the victims had been shot in the head.
The victims are 77-year-old Kumari Kowlessar-Timal, 48-year-old Radeshka Timal, and 22-year-old Zachary David, the latter two of which are Canadian nationals. They were found at a Don Miguel Road address in San Juan, which is a town of about 16,000 people.
Rakesh David was arrested by homicide bureau officers on the same date. He was formally charged on Friday, Oct. 1.
In a phone interview on Saturday, Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard said the accused had contacted the Barrie-Innisfil constituency office about a year ago to see if he could be part of the volunteer board.
“There were a few people looking to be part of the board and we made a motion to allow them to help out,” Brassard said. “I think he was on one board call in the last year. To be honest, I don’t know much about the guy.”
Brassard said the incident is “just an absolute tragedy for the family,” but added David’s interactions with the local Conservative riding association were very minimal.
Brassard confirmed that, in light of the allegations against David, he has been removed from the board.
According to a Toronto Star report published Friday, a personal essay on the Athabasca University website in Edmonton, which has since been removed, David said he was born in 1996 with severe congenital abnormalities that required numerous reconstructive surgeries and procedures.
