Execution of Raphael Piggott…

Nov 10, 2008 News

Pregnant girlfriend recalls ordeal
Raphael Piggott’s 22-year-old reputed wife, whose life was spared following Saturday’s fatal shooting, is thankful to be alive and is hoping all is well with her unborn child.
Evanese King, who is five months’ pregnant, was in the front seat of Raphael Piggott’s car when he was gunned down in execution style by a lone gunman.
Recounting what she described as “the worst five minutes of her life,” King said she, Piggott and a friend whom she knows only as ‘Vincent’ were returning from neighbouring Suriname when disaster struck.
She explained that she was seated in the passenger side of the vehicle while Vincent was in the back seat.
Speaking to this newspaper from her Guyhoc Park home, King said her husband is a trader, who would visit Suriname from time to time.

From left are the dead man’s brother, Linval Piggott; mother, Ena Piggott, and his reputed wife, Evanese King.

This was her first trip with him.
She said that the trio had been in Suriname since Thursday of last week.
“We were going to drop off Vincent, so Raphael was turning around the car in the street; and a car pull up from nowhere and a man come out and start walking up to we car.
“When he reach a short distance from Raphael’s window, he pull out a gun…When Raphael see the gun, he start to drive,” King recalled.
However, she said, even as Piggott tried to accelerate, two shots were fired in his direction, which hit him in the chest.
Realising that the father of her unborn child was wounded, King’s first instinct was to try to get the car to stop.
“He still kept driving, but the car keep swaying from side to side, so I tried getting the car to stop, but we ended up over a trench and eventually into the back of someone’s yard,” she recalled.
After the car came to a screeching halt, King said, she managed to exit the vehicle to render assistance to Piggott.
“I went around to him, but I couldn’t get the door open, so I started screaming, and by that time people had already rushed to the scene,” King said.
She added that several young men who came to her assistance managed to open the car door and summon a minibus.
The mortally wounded Piggott was rushed to the St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital. King said she accompanied her reputed husband to the hospital, where she was told by medical officials shortly after that he was dead.
Miraculously, King escaped the ordeal with only a small laceration to her bottom lip, while Vincent escaped without a scratch.
“When we were going to the hospital, Piggott was still breathing and he was opening his eyes,” she recalled.
According to the woman, the gunman sported dreadlocks and was wearing a cap and sunglasses.
She said that, following the incident, she was told by persons who came to render assistance that the gunman fled in a waiting car.
King said she is just hoping that all is well with her unborn child.
She was examined by doctors at the St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital and was told to return today for an ultrasound to ensure her baby’s safety.
“Raphael was supposed to accompany me to do an ultrasound to see if is was a boy or a girl we were having, but now I will have to go alone to see if anything is wrong with the baby,” King lamented.
Meanwhile, the dead man’s mother, 53-year-old Ena Piggott, recalled what a friendly person her son was.
She said she cannot think of a reason why anyone would want him dead.
“He was very nice and helpful, and he is always supporting his six other siblings,” the woman said.
She dispelled all assertions that her son was involved in ‘illegal activities.’
She urged the relevant authorities to conduct a thorough investigation, so that her son’s killer could be brought to justice.
According to a police statement, Piggott was pronounced dead on arrival at the St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital. Police say they have recovered two .45 shells from the scene.