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THE joyous occasion of Christmas was shattered for two families yesterday as the murder toll kept rising.

The deaths of Michael Archer, 39, and Antonio De Freitas, 19, (son of martial arts expert Master Don Jacob), who were shot and killed in separate incidents, within 12 hours of each other, have pushed this country's number of murders to a record high of 162.

In the first incident Archer was shot five times outside of his home at Swami Avenue, Don Miguel Road, El Socorro early yesterday morning. In the next De Freitas was shot once in the chest during a robbery.

According to reports sometime after midnight Archer's downstairs neighbour, upon hearing loud explosions looked outside and saw the body of a man lying close to a car in the yard.

The neighbour called the police and a party of officers led by Snr Supt. Lambert and including Supt Bishop, Insp Lewis, Sgt Hazzari and others visited the scene.

In an interview with the Express Archer's common-law wife Delice Stool explained that she and their three children arrived from Guyana just three days ago. She said Archer came to Trinidad three months ago to search for an apartment so that they could join him in Trinidad. “He came to find a place and we are here to spend some time to see how it would work out.”

She described her husband as a businessman who traded, jewelry, cars, “anything that could bring in some money.” She said whoever shot Archer waited for him to come out of the car.

“He walks with a cane, so his habit is to stop the car, and take his phone and cigarettes out and rest them on the top of the car. Those things were there when I looked outside,” she said.

In the next killing ,19-year-old Antonio Jacob De Freitas was shot during a robbery at Presidential Insurance, Piccadilly Street just after noon yesterday.

In a telephone interview with the Express, his father Don Jacob explained that his son just turned 19 and went to the insurance company to purchase insurance for his car.

“He did not have enough money and he left the building and went to one of the ATM machines by one of banks on Park Street, within walking distance of Presidential.

“It appears that three men followed him from the bank, because as he reentered the building they followed and one of them attempted to grab his chain from around his neck. He got into a struggle with two of them, not noticing the third man had a gun, and the third man shot him.”

De Freitas was shot once in the chest. He died on the spot.

As for coping with the loss of his son this Christmas, Jacob contented that “dying is a part of life.

“But he was a good boy, and life was going well for him,” Jacob said .

A party of officers headed by ACP Crime Oswyn Allard and including Snr Supt Reyes, Supt Denoon, ASP Sealy, Ag Insp Ramnarine and Sgt McIntyre visited the scene. McIntyre is continuing investigations.