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Affair With Cousin Turns Into Murder; Boyfriend Held On a $1 Million Bail

A P Kamath

Kurt Latchman spent the last weekend hoping his friends would bail him out of jail, but on May 25 he was told that the charges of aggravated assault against him were being changed to murder, and a judge had ruled that he has to post $ 1 million bail for his release.

The changes followed after Latchman's girlfriend Carol Rampersad was declared dead -- the machines that kept her heart pumping for over 24 hours at the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center had failed to revive her. Hospital officials said they had kept her on life support as they waited for her family members to arrive from Toronto. The family has not taken a decision whether to cremate her in Toronto or in Trinidad.

"She was legally and medically dead by Monday morning, so we moved ahead with the [murder] charge," said Assistant Prosecutor James V Santulli.

Latchman, 26, lived with Carol, 29, in New Jersey for several years. The two had lived in Toronto but fearing the opposition of their relatives to their affair, they came to the United States. Latchman, who described himself as a self-employed handyman, is an illegal alien, and could be deported to Trinidad after he serves a substantial part of his sentence. Officials had not determined Rampersad's legal status. She too was born in Trinidad.

The couple lived in a shabby basement paying $ 400 rent. Rampersad spent weeknights nearby in Tenafly, where she lived and worked as a nanny for a Trinidadian family.

On Saturday, Rampersad had cooked curry goat and had warmed dal roti for her lover. But as friends began to visit the couple, he forgot about the curry and goat. As his friends went away to nearby bars and clubs, Latchman allegedly became enraged suddenly, accusing Rampersad of flirting with another man, prosecutors told a judge. He took her into their bedroom and beat her viciously, they said.

The people in the neighborhood heard screams and called the police. Police officers had to kick in the door and found Rampersad unconscious on the bed. Latchman was sitting beside her with a dazed expression.

Rampersad's heart stopped shortly after medical assistance arrived, but paramedics managed to get it beating again, Santulli said. She never regained consciousness, he added.

The two were notorious for their late night parties, neighbors told reporters. "On weekends, there would be more than 100 people who visited them for all night partying, though the basement apartment could hardly hold more than 10 people at a time.

"With so much of alcohol and music going around, lot of funny things could go around," said a neighbor who only gave the last name – Persaud. "The funny business turned serious this time, didn’t it? Back in Trinidad we teach our young to respect their elders. But here in America, young boys and girls lose their shame and respect."

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