The murder of Elaine McGowan, a 65-year-old British pub landlady, in Trinidad and Tobago may have been intended to intimidate her into returning to the UK rather than to kill her, investigators believe.
McGowan was shot in the leg outside her elderly uncle's home in Trincity on July 5, a wound that severed her femoral artery and led to fatal blood loss. CCTV footage captured a figure emerging from a white Nissan Tiida, running toward the house, firing three shots, and then fleeing. The attack occurred in broad daylight on a quiet residential street.
"Someone was hired to put down a hit. But we think that murder was not the intention. It was to scare her into returning to the UK, which explains why she was shot in the leg but sadly bled out," a source close to the police investigation told the Daily Mail.
Trinidad and Tobago is experiencing a high rate of gang-related violence, with McGowan being the 198th victim of murder this year in a country of approximately 1.5 million people. The nation's murder rate ranks second in the Caribbean, after Haiti.
McGowan, who co-owned the Castle Hotel in Saltwood, Kent, had been pursuing a lifelong dream of moving to Trinidad, her prominent businessman father George Butcher's birthplace. Following her father's death three years ago, she took over the management of his thriving coconut farming business, Cocal Retreat, and had been preparing for a permanent move. She had obtained Trinidadian citizenship, and her husband, Ian, was planning to follow suit.
Investigators are exploring several angles, including disputes over her father's inheritance or personal conflicts. However, sources close to the family have disputed suggestions that George Butcher's will was changed in a way that would cause upset among beneficiaries. They stated that he had worked for many years to create a will that would benefit many people, with a clear intention for Elaine to manage his estate.
Local reports from the Manzanilla area, where Cocal Retreat is located, indicated rumblings of farmers being at odds with management and refusing to pay rent. Elaine McGowan had reportedly issued letters to farmers in February, warning of legal action if outstanding payments were not settled by May 30.
McGowan and her husband had faced financial difficulties in recent years, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their pub lease and Ian McGowan's cancer diagnosis. Some former customers recalled a more difficult side to Elaine's personality, though close friends described her as a "lovely woman."
Ian McGowan, speaking at his wife's funeral, expressed his devastation: "We are here to remember my lovely wife, who was torn from us on July 5. Elaine was passionate, intelligent, joyful and loving of all family and friends. She lit up and touched lives wherever she went. We’ve been inseparable since we came together 26 years ago."