Nine days after two-year-old Angelo Tobias Plaza was reported missing from his home in the coastal Tobago village of Goodwood, the high-profile investigation has taken a devastating, unexpected turn: one of seven detained suspects has confessed to strangling the toddler and discarding his body in the waters off Goodwood Bay.
The toddler was first reported missing from his Goodwood residence on the night of May 11. In the week following his disappearance, a multi-team search effort involving local police, the volunteer Hunters Search and Rescue Team (HSRT), and other emergency responders scoured a wide swath of terrain, from Goodwood Bay to the Studley Park Landfill and the Pig Farm Road corridor in nearby Goldsborough. It was not until day nine of the search that investigators received a break in the case: new critical intelligence that led them back to Goodwood Bay, and ultimately prompted the confession from one of the seven people already in custody.
According to official statements, the suspect told interrogators he killed Angelo by strangulation before disposing of the child’s body in Goodwood Bay. Investigators had planned to escort the suspect back to Goodwood village to map out key locations connected to the crime, but the detainee reported feeling ill mid-process, and was transported to the Accident and Emergency Department at Scarborough General Hospital for medical evaluation yesterday afternoon.
Acting on the details provided in the confession, law enforcement and search teams have now shifted their operations to focus on stretches of Tobago’s northern coastline and adjacent offshore waters. As of yesterday, three women and four men remain in police custody in connection with the case. Investigators also brought Angelo’s mother, Kalifa Tobias, back to her Cambridge Trace home yesterday. Dressed in a white crime scene suit and accompanied by a heavy police escort including plainclothes officers, Tobias walked the property with investigators and pointed out specific areas of interest before being transported back to a police vehicle for departure.
Separately, search teams followed up on another tip this week after a Pig Farm Road resident reported spotting a suspicious black bag at the bottom of a local precipice. HSRT leader Vallence Rambharat told reporters that rescue teams used specialized ropes to descend to the site to retrieve the bag, but confirmed its contents had no connection to the Angelo investigation. As of last night, the toddler’s body had not yet been recovered.
In an official statement released earlier yesterday, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) acknowledged the investigation had reached a “critical turn.” Assistant Commissioner of Police Rishi Singh noted that the investigative team continues to work diligently and with professional rigor to reach a “clear and definitive outcome” for the case. The TTPS added that the ongoing probe remains a sensitive matter, and all enquiries are being conducted fairly, with full respect for the constitutional rights of every individual involved in the case. The investigation draws on resources from multiple specialized units across the TTPS, including the Special Victims Department, Tobago Division Gang Unit, Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Tobago Divisional Task Force, Canine Unit, and Criminal Records Office, with additional logistical support from the Tobago Emergency Management Agency and the HSRT. Police have renewed a public appeal for anyone with information about Angelo’s whereabouts to come forward, contacting the Scarborough Police Station, the national 555 emergency line, 800-TIPS, or Tobago 211.
For the tight-knit community of Goodwood, the news of the confession has brought a wave of grief and unanswered questions, with residents gathering for nightly prayer vigils at Goodwood Bay. Local Pembroke resident Chandra Jerry broke down in tears during an interview yesterday, saying the prolonged wait for answers has left her exhausted. “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,” Jerry said. “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.”
Eighty-seven-year-old Goodwood resident Agnes Alleyne, who told reporters she had never witnessed such a tragedy in her lifetime, said the village will need significant time to process and heal from the shock. “I am feeling sad with the situation. The child is a very, very nice child, but I don’t know what happened,” Alleyne said. “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.”