The investigation into the case of missing toddler Angelo Tobias Plaza took a shocking turn yesterday when one of the seven people held by police confessed to strangling the two-year-old and throwing his body into the sea near the coastal village of Goodwood in Tobago.The suspect told officers he killed Angelo by strangling him and disposed of his body, throwing it into the sea at Goodwood Bay.
Angelo Tobias Plaza
The child had been reported missing from his Goodwood home on the night of May 11.Since then, police, the Hunters Search and Rescue Team and others have combed Goodwood Bay, the Studley Park Landfill, and Pig Farm Road in Goldsborough for Angelo.They returned to Goodwood Bay on day nine yesterday after receiving what they believed to be critical new information.The confession led officers back to the home of Angelo’s mother and stepfather at Cambridge Trace, Goodwood.Investigators had intended to take the suspect to the village to identify specific locations relevant to the probe, but he complained of illness yesterday.He was taken to the Scarborough General Hospital Accident and Emergency Department for medical attention yesterday afternoon.As a result of the information provided, police and search teams are concentrating operations along sections of the coastline and nearby waters in Tobago.Three women and four men remain in custody in connection with the investigation.Angelo’s mother, Kalifa Tobias, was yesterday taken back to her Goodwood home by investigators.Tobias, dressed in a white crime scene suit, arrived at the Cambridge Trace property under heavy police escort and was accompanied by several officers in civilian clothing.During the visit, Tobias pointed out several areas around the property to investigators before she was escorted back into a police vehicle and taken away from the scene.Angelo had still not been found last night.Members of the Hunters Search and Rescue Team also searched nearby areas after a resident of Pig Farm Road reported seeing a suspicious black bag down a precipice.HSRT leader Vallence Rambharat said rescuers used ropes to descend into the area because the bag appeared suspicious.However, he said the contents of the bag were unrelated to the investigation.In a release earlier yesterday, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service said investigations into Angelo’s disappearance had taken a “critical turn”.Assistant Commissioner of Police Rishi Singh said investigators were continuing to work diligently and professionally toward achieving “a clear and definitive outcome” in the matter.The TTPS said the investigation remained sensitive and ongoing, and that all enquiries were being conducted fairly and with full respect for the constitutional rights of all involved.Police said the probe involves officers from the Special Victims Department, Tobago Division Gang Unit, Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Tobago Divisional Task Force, Canine Unit, and the Criminal Records Office.Support is also being provided by the Tobago Emergency Management Agency and the Hunters Search and Rescue Team.Police urged anyone with information on Angelo’s whereabouts to contact the Scarborough Police Station; 555; 800-TIPS; or Tobago 211.Village will need time to heal Pembroke resident Chandra Jerry broke down in tears at Goodwood Bay yesterday as she, relatives and residents continue holding prayer vigils nightly at Goodwood Bay.“I am emotional at the moment. I want to see the baby come out...so that I could feel good in my spirit. It’s getting tiring. I’m getting very weak at this point because we really want answers to this, and the only answer is to see the baby alive or dead to give us comfort.“So it is a very sad moment for us; it’s day nine and no answers. I am fed up. I want the authorities to work faster, (he) confess, yes, but where is the baby? That’s what we want to know now...I believe in the power of prayer. God is working and prayer is the only solution,” Jerry said.Eighty-seven-year-old Agnes Alleyne also spoke to the media at Goodwood Bay.“I am feeling sad with the situation. The child is a very, very nice child, but I don’t know what happened...Parents nowadays don’t know how to bring up children...,” she stated.Alleyne said the village of Goodwood would take some time to heal after this tragedy.“They could heal but it will take some time, it will take some time. It’s a very sad situation right now because I have never seen such a thing in my life, never ever. It hurt me.“I see my food...I cannot even eat my food. When I heard that this boy confess, it hurt me very much...Why did they not bring that child and give me, I would have adopted the child,” she said.
