Police release findings on South Terrace deaths
Police have closed their inquiry into the discovery of four people dead at a residence in South Terrace, Pembroke at about noon on July 7 and confirmed that authorities were not seeking a suspect in connection with the incident.
The tragedy stunned the community, prompting vigils in the midst of a summer that police acknowledged had been marred by murders and violent incidents.
The Bermuda Police Service said that Nicole Parfitt, 39, sustained fatal injuries from a bladed weapon, along with her two children, Na-Vii Trimm-Parfitt, 4, and Drae-E Trimm-Parfitt, 9.
Forensic evidence and autopsies showed that the fourth person found at the scene, Ramon Trimm, 40, died from suicide.
The police investigation into the matter was said to be complete and a spokesman added: “Out of respect for the families of the deceased, no further information will be provided at this time.
“A full report has now been submitted for the attention of the coroner.”
In an unprecedented week for the island, the four deaths were followed three days later by a double murder in Sandys on July 10, in which Razi Garland, 18, and Amon Robinson, 19, were both shot early in the day in the Fort Scaur area.
Two were arrested last month in connection with the matter.
The island’s churches organised a national day of mourning in the wake of the tragedies, when faith leaders networked to support the community.
The string of violent incidents this summer, going back to the Bermuda Day holiday on May 24, coincided with a 45-year low in police staffing.
Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, conceded that officer numbers “need to rise in order for the BPS to effectively respond to violent firearm crime”.
The bolstered police presence prompted the full embodiment of the Bermuda Reserve Police for the first time since the 2020 outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rena Lalgie, the Governor, expressed shock last month at the island’s tragic deaths, while David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, told the public he was “committed to ensuring that additional funds are allocated to support important initiatives that will further assist those in need in breaking the cycle of violence that our community has endured”.
• UPDATE: this article has been updated to include more information