#TurksandCaicosIslands – January 13, 2021 – When Christopher Forbes recently took a Covid-19 PCR test, he likely thought the negative result gave him the all clear as being among those sickened by a coronavirus outbreak at the prison facility in Grand Turk. Turns out it was also his all clear to be carted off in a carefully planned and flawlessly executed transfer not to another site in the tropical Caribbean, but to an impenetrable, maximum security facility for a man of his heinous criminal nature in the United Kingdom.
In a media
statement the Governor, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Prison
Superintendent opened up, ever so slightly about the shocking removal of infamous
Forbes, who is a Turks and Caicos Islander but originally from Grand Bahama
Island in The Bahamas.
“Today,
Christopher Forbes a prisoner in HMP Grand Turk is being transferred to a
prison in the UK. This is where he will serve the remainder of his
sentence. He is being escorted by members of the Her Majesty Prison and
Probation Service. On arrival, he will reside in a category A prison in
England,” said David Bowden, Prison Superintendent.
PrisonPhone website published: There are eight category A
prisons in the UK. The facilities are
high security prisons where the most dangerous and difficult to manage
prisoners are kept. These
prisons hold some of the most notorious criminals in the UK, many of whom are
serving life sentences. These prisons are designed to make escape impossible for the
prisoners, and are commonly described as ‘high security’ or ‘maximum security’
establishments.
It is the second
transfer of high maintenance inmates in recent months for the Turks and Caicos
prison system under the new superintendent.
Residents seem relieved at the steady and sturdy push toward prison reform.
The Governor,
His Excellency Nigel Dakin, stated, “the stability of Her Majesty’s Prison
is a critical piece in our strategy towards safeguarding national security and
we will continue to exercise all avenues available to us in order to accomplish
our national goals and secure our institutions and our communities. I am
grateful to the UK Government for their support in this matter.”
Forbes, who is
easily the worst felon in Turks and Caicos history was convicted of the brutal
double homicides in 2016 of Yuneiry Veras in April and Sorineida Moreno Arias
in July. Both women from the Dominican Republic were 26-years old when they met
their deaths. Both were sexually
assaulted, beaten and brutalized and left partially clothed in remote areas of
northwest Providenciales.
Search parties
mobilised by the Dominican community found both victims. The deaths incited protests which vociferously
demanded an arrest by TCI Police. The
activism worked and in August 2016 Forbes was arrested. Found, living in plain
sight at his girlfriend’s house in the residential community of Millennium
Heights.
It was
overwhelming DNA evidence which was the undoing of this cold-blooded, sloppy
killer. Christopher Forbes’ DNA was
found under the finger nails, on clothing, a towel and in a condom left at the
crime scene. Due to the struggle for her
life, genetic material of the killer was detected in the jewelry his last
victim – Sorineida – a mother of two young children; the jury heard how she had
peeled away Forbes’ skin which was found in her rings.
Additionally,
CCTV cameras captured Forbes’ vehicle picking up a victim in Five Cays. Phone
records revealed Forbes was in contact with both women on the nights they went
missing and were murdered and a boast, scribbled in the passport of the first
victim – Yuneiry Veras – and found in the area of Sweet T’s restaurant was the final
piece of the puzzle; police moved in and made the arrest.
In prison,
Christopher Forbes was a menace and disturbingly, a jailhouse rock star.
A string of prison
violations for abuses against prison superintendents and deputy superintendents
led to at least two convictions. Forbes
regularly made appearances on Facebook live, had his own stash of expensive
liquors like Hennessy, a big screen television, gold jewelry, expensive
sunglasses and appeared to be having a ball as a ‘baller’, high on marijuana
while living a glamourous life in TCI prison and on the public’s dime.
Meanwhile the
families and friends of Sorienda and Yuniery remain traumatized by the vicious
killings, which were unprovoked and described by a juror as serial killings by
a dangerous man who should spend the rest of his living years behind bars.
In 2020, an
historic ruling by Justice Tanya Lobban-Jackson achieved that feat; Christopher
Forbes received a double life sentence without any chance for parole. Now around 38-years old, Christopher Forbes will
have to settle into one of eight category A prisons in the United Kingdom.
“I am most
grateful to the transfer team from the UK. I have also been very
impressed by the inter-governmental departments, working very closely with the
MoHA, to make this transfer as efficient as it was,” added Superintendent
Bowden, who categorised Forbes as a high risk inmate who posed a great risk to
the development of HMP Prison as a safe, secure and rehabilitative institution.
The transfer of the prisoner was approved by UK Ministers, as
permissible under UK legislation, and supported by the Governor and Premier of
the Turks and Caicos Islands.
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#TurksandCaicos, March 27, 2023 – Following the announcement that several women had been robbed and assaulted in Blue Hills in the past weeks, Magnetic Media queried why the Police would wait until they had a man in custody to release an alert.
TCI’s newest addition to the top brass Detective Superintendent Dean Holden, Head of Crime, Safeguarding and Public Protection, told us that it initially appeared to be an isolated offence and not part of a series of incidents.
“The full circumstances needed to be investigated to ascertain the facts before a public alert could be considered. Misinformation in such a case would only cause unnecessary public concern and confusion and could adversely impact the investigation and the safeguarding of persons involved—” he said. “Even now there is no definitive information that these offences are linked, and investigators remain open-minded.”
Holden claimed an early alert with limited information could have hindered the investigation and they were trying to protect the women who may not have wanted to be identified based on where they lived.
As it turns out, the public concern was very much warranted, because there have been more violent sexual attacks, and more victims got hurt, forcing their hands.
“When further similar offences were committed, the overriding principle of sustained public protection was considered, hence the alert/release issued,” he said.
That alert was coupled with the news that a man had been arrested. Whether those further similar incidents could have been prevented if the public was informed earlier and taken extra precautions, is the underlying question. To date, we don’t know how many victims there are.
Police have increased patrols in the Blue Hills area and condemned the crimes as unacceptable. They have not indicated if anyone was charged for the offences yet.
#TurksandCaicos, March 27, 2023 – After a festive three days of competition, the TCISS Inter-High Track & Field Championships 2023 have concluded with the A. Louise Garland Thomas High School reigning as Champions. Featuring a great turnout, eleven schools from across the Turks and Caicos Islands met to compete at the National Stadium March 9-11, 2023.
The competition was stiff among athletes, who were all competing for top spots and by extension a spot-on Team TCI’s CARIFTA 2023 team. From high-spirited invitationals to entertainment by DJ Shakes, spectators enjoyed the best Nationals competition yet.
Overall results:
1st Place: A. Louise Garland Thomas High School
2nd Place: Clement Howell High School
3rd Place: Marjorie Basden High School
Twenty athletes have been selected for Turks and Caicos Islands National CARIFTA Team, some who would have competed in the TCISS Inter-High Track & Field Championships 2023 and some living abroad.
#TurksandCaicos, March 27, 2023 – The Turks and Caicos recently hosted the head of the British Army who has now been made a member of the local regiment.
Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff (CGS) spent a mid-March weekend in the country and it’s a visit Governor Nigel Dakin hopes will be rewarding for the TCI Regiment in the future. The Governor said as much in the Instagram post announcing the visit.
“He is now an Honorary Colonel of our Regiment. That’s an enormously important step for us because it gives our Regiment a champion working at the very top of UK Defence,” Dakin said.
The visit also included Lord Mark Lancaster, Former Minister for UK Armed Forces who Dakin acknowledged had championed the petition for OTs to even have their own military forces.
The men met cordially with the Regiment and then saw them in action officially. The Premier was also part of the meetings, so too the Maritime Police and Radar, the Tactical Firearms Unit and National Security Secretariat Dakin explained. The top man was impressed with the regiment as he told Dakin how proud he was to be associated with the troupe.
One stop in the tour was Dockyard, the Providenciales community where so much grief was felt and caused over the past year. Also a suspected have for illegal migrants and contraband.
“Very pleased to see this relationship established before leave. It says much about the distance already traveled and it bodes very well indeed for the Regiment’s future.” He said. Fitting that Dakin’s last guests should be Britain’s security experts considering his investment in Border security in the TCI during his tenure.
Dakin will bid the country farewell by the end of March.