For Nicole Richards, a matriarch from Beetham Gardens, four years have passed without the justice she has grieved and fought for. On a recent evening, she gathered roughly 20 supporters near the Republic Bank at the intersection of Chacon Street and Independence Square, where her 21-year-old son Fabien Richards was killed by Trinidad and Tobago police on July 2, 2022. Attendees lit white candles in memory of Fabien and his two companions, 24-year-old Isaiah Roberts and 17-year-old Leonardo Williams, who also lost their lives in the shooting.
The tragedy unfolded in the early hours of that July Saturday, when Western Division police officers responded to a report of stolen motor vehicle and attempted to stop a white Toyota Aqua carrying six young people in Port of Spain. A high-speed chase ensued, ending when the vehicle crashed into an exterior wall of the Republic Bank on Independence Square. According to official police accounts, officers from the Guard and Emergency Branch who had joined the pursuit claimed they came under gunfire from people inside the vehicle, and returned fire at the car. Three of the occupants — Fabien, Roberts, and Williams — were killed instantly. A fourth teen was rushed to Port of Spain General Hospital for treatment of injuries, while the remaining two passengers were detained unhurt. Investigators later said they recovered a Smith & Wesson pistol from the crashed vehicle. The three detained passengers were eventually released pending further inquiry, and lead investigator Senior Superintendent Neil Brandon-John recorded statements from all three before his passing, which left the investigation stalled.
For the Richards family, the pain of their loss remains as raw as the day they received the news of the shooting. In an interview with the *Sunday Express*, Nicole Richards, a mother of four, shared that the investigation went cold immediately after Brandon-John died, and authorities have not provided any updates to the family in the years since. “It’s painful because we are not getting the justice we want,” she said. “We will not stop until we get justice for all three boys. I want justice for my son Fabien.”
Fabien never got the chance to hold or meet his own daughter, Soria John, who is now three years old. That unfulfilled future haunts Nicole every day. “His baby is three. A little sweetheart. She knows her daddy died, that he’s in heaven,” Nicole said. “When I look at her, I keep pleading for justice.”
This is not the first devastating loss Nicole has endured: her son Garth Richards was killed after being hit by a bus in 2014. She says she draws her strength to keep fighting from her two daughters, Nicola and Isoma, and her faith in God. Remembering Fabien, she painted a picture of a playful, loving young man who would sneak up behind her, cling to her calf, and pretend to be a dog chasing her to make her laugh. He loved corned beef served over rice or pasta, and enjoyed making YouTube videos in his free time.
Fabien had been on his way home with his friends from a farewell party held in Diego Martin when the shooting happened, Nicole explained. Today, he would have turned 25. Refuting the police’s claim that the young men were armed, Nicole described her son’s death as an execution: he was shot ten times in the head. “The children were on their way home. Fabien was talking to his cousin on the way home,” she said. “We want justice. They need to get rid of the corrupt ones who hold high office. It’s not right. It can’t be right in the eyes of God and man.”
Amid a rising tide of violent crime and police-involved deaths across the country, Nicole is calling for sweeping leadership changes. She is demanding the immediate resignation of Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, as well as Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander and Defence Minister Wayne Sturge. “A state of emergency is not stopping crime,” she said. “I don’t dabble in politics. But it’s almost every day you are hearing an innocent person died. When I hear somebody died at the hands of the police, I wonder who is next.”
Nicole Richards, Fabien’s older sister, echoed her mother’s call for justice, saying she has mourned her younger brother like he was her own son. Fabien lived with Nicola at her El Socorro home from primary school onward, growing up alongside her son Nicholai. “My heart still hurts. The pain is still fresh,” she told the *Sunday Express*. “Every day you hear horror stories: people being killed, children murdered, teenagers missing. You see his scenario being replayed in your head over and over. It’s not easy.”
She cherishes the memory of her last birthday with Fabien, in November 2021, when the family held a lively games night. The two of them were the final pair left standing in a game of musical chairs, sharing a moment of joy that she still holds close. Today, the family shares their love with Fabien’s daughter Soria, who spends every weekend with them and is described by Nicola as “a darling.”
“Only God can give justice because he sees and knows everything,” Nicola said. “He would have seen what unfolded in the car. He would have heard their cries.”
The vigil drew solidarity from other families who have also lost loved ones to police-involved violence and been left without answers. Among the attendees was Alyssa Phillip, who has organized multiple protests demanding clarity for her friend Kaia Sealy. Sealy is currently facing charges connected to the January police shooting death of her husband Joshua Samaroo, and Phillip and the Richards family say their shared grief has forged a bond of mutual support in the fight for accountability.