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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Real Mas in the Cemetery

Msgr. Eustace Thomas (c.)
Photo: Dominica Vibes

News reaching MiTC overnight indicate that there was an altercation at a funeral on Tuesday which may have resulted in one individual being detained at Police Headquarters and another at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Details are sketchy but from what we understand, pandemonium broke out at the funeral of a lady today in Dominica. Sources tell us that a member of the family of the deceased was engaged in what may have been a shouting match with the head of the St. Alphonsus Church, Monsignor Eustace Thomas, who is also said to be related to the deceased. Update: our initial report of a shouting match as being the source of the altercation is erroneous. Ms. Robin has informed us that the Police arrived with a previously prepared arrest warrant which alleged that she "poked" the Haitian woman, which prompted a Magistrate to issue the warrant because she was considered a flight risk.

The individual who was engaged in the confrontation with Fr. Thomas, Ms. Fran Robin, is Fr. Thomas' cousin who recently made headlines when she revealed on social media that the Monsignor was having an inappropriate relationship with a Haitian woman who was living at her house in Roseau. Ms. Robin, who resides in the US, has been attempting to get the woman evicted but has run into considerable interference from Fr. Thomas, who she says uses his influence and connections to frustrate her efforts. At the funeral today, Fr. Thomas apparently used his influence once again when he confronted Ms. Robin and her family, who are in Dominica for the service and burial, and allegedly orchestrated a series of events that resulted in Ms. Robin being rushed to the Princess Margaret Hospital while her husband was detained at Police Headquarters. 

Journalist Carlisle Jno-Baptiste recently had a run in with Fr. Thomas for what many suspect was a surreptitious attempt to silence him and other members of the media on the issue relating to the Monsignor and the Haitian woman. A few days ago, while speaking to Q95 Hot Seat anchor Mathias Peltier Jr,  Mr. Jno-Baptiste recalled details of his brief encounter with Fr. Thomas which at the time appeared to be amicable. Mr. Jno-Baptiste said that the Monsignor greeted him affectionately and the two exchanged pleasantries. Not long after that encounter, Mr. Jno-Baptiste reported that he was served with a cease and desist letter from attorney Lenox Lawrence on behalf of Fr. Thomas. The letter purportedly instructs Messrs. Jno-Baptiste and Peltier as well as Q95 from making references to Fr. Thomas. The letter does not apparently make specific mention of the issue involving Fr. Thomas and the Haitian woman, but the inference is clear in the wording. Mr. Jno-Baptiste has since referred to his encounter with Fr. Thomas as a "Judas kiss".

Upon learning about the altercation yesterday, MiTC reached out to Ms. Robin to express our concerns for her safety as well as that of her family.

Full disclosure: When the allegations about Monsignor Thomas first surfaced on social media, we immediately reached out to Ms. Robin for clarification. She expressed to us then that she was dealing with a death in her family and so could not talk to us at that time but would talk at more appropriate time. Ms. Robin then traveled to Dominica for the funeral. The confrontation on Tuesday occurred at that service.

We can report today that Ms. Robin is safe and is in the care of loved ones. She has also indicated that the confrontation was orchestrated by Fr. Thomas and has released a statement to Mas In The Cemetery.

Here is the statement by Ms. Robin.
Note: The image above represents the true and accurate prepared statement by Ms. Robin as released to MiTC. It has not been edited in any way from its original content. Ms. Robin asserts her right to express herself and she has chosen to do so in this manner. She has done so freely and without inhibitions.  


Update 13:40 GMT: We can inform you that this statement by Ms. Williams was presented to the Bishop of Roseau, Gabriel Malzaire by her lawyer. We are also in possession of emails as well as screen shot text messages that appear to be between Fr. Thomas and the Haitian woman.




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6 comments :

  1. Yes... Keep that fire burning.. A little more oil in de lamp - to keep it burning sa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tell us the real story behind all this commotion.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is just a family issue in my opinion and the lady is a trouble maker. She like those family members that will come down when someone dies and make noise for land and house and just put confusion

    ReplyDelete

 
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