A 17-year-old appeared before the Children’s Court yesterday, charged with the murder of 15-year-old Beris Joseph.
The teen was charged last week following advice from the DPP’s Office.
Joseph’s body was found in the Mt Hay area on January 4. An autopsy revealed he was shot multiple times about the head and neck.
The Form Four student of Signal Hill Secondary School was laid to rest last week.
He was Tobago’s first murder victim in 2025. For the same period last year, the island recorded two murders.
In a video, which circulated on social media, Joseph, who appeared to be unconscious, was being carried on the shoulder of a male while another man played with his head as it dangled on the side.
In the last 20 seconds of the video, what looked like children on bicycles, were seen riding around him, taunting him as he looked on with his hands and feet bound.
Snr Supt Earl Elie said Joseph was involved in certain activities that made him vulnerable.
Speaking at a Tobago Stakeholders Security meeting on January 9, Elie explained how gangs have been exploiting “impressionable” teenagers and children from as young as age 12 into criminal activities.
