Adventist Church in Trinidad Mourns the Loss of Slain Church Members

Image by Carolyn V/Unsplash

March 22, 2018 | La Brea, Trinidad | Libna Stevens/IAD

Seventh-day Adventists in Trinidad are devastated by the loss of three of its members, who were victims of a violent knife attack last week.

Investigators said the murders occurred on Mar. 13 in La Brea, a town in the southwestern part of the country. Michael Scott, 69, a retired high school teacher and church elder, Abigail Chapman, 42, a Spanish teacher at the Southern Adventist Academy, her daughter Olivia Chapman, 15, and schoolmate Michaela Mason, 14, were the victims.

Abigail Chapman (left), Michael Scott, and Olivia Chapman, all members of the La Brea Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad, were killed last week. Image from Facebook

“This has shaken our church here and our entire nation is traumatized by this massacre,” said Pastor Kern Tobias, president of the church in the Caribbean Union, headquartered in Trinidad. “We continue to mourn the loss of these lives and pray for the surviving family members and community at large.”

“I am in grief,” said Tobias, who knew Scott and considered him one of his mentors when he started in the ministry. “Scott was a dedicated church elder, historian and trained young people to serve the Lord for decades,” said Tobias. “Scott was also very established in his community and many joined in a solidarity March and prayer vigil for him and the rest of the victims this weekend.”

Michael Scott was landlord of the apartment in which Chapman and her three children lived. On the day of the attack, Scott heard noises coming from Chapman’s apartment, which was downstairs from his. He went to the apartment and encountered the suspected attacker, who had a domestic violence report submitted against him recently by Chapman.

Chapman’s two younger children, who attend Port Fortin Adventist Primary School, were not physically harmed. They were with Scott, who locked them in his apartment before going downstairs to investigate the noises coming from Chapman’s apartment.

Packed memorial service for Abigail Chapman and her daughter Olivia at their La Brea Adventist Church on Mar. 21, 2018. Image from Southern Caribbean Media on Youtube

Friends and family remembered Chapman and her daughter Olivia during a packed memorial service held at their La Brea Adventist Church yesterday. Chapman was remembered for her dedication to her family and her committed service to her church. She was a dedicated pathfinder, served as a primary school teacher and secondary school teacher for many years.

“She had creative ways of delivering her knowledge to her students, she was a dedicated teacher, imaginative, creative, worked hard and she taught her children to read the Bible and be active in church,” a cousin of chapman read during the service.

“Olivia was a pathfinder and active in church and she would make sure her friends had a seat at church,” another cousin testified.

There are still unanswered questions about this senseless act, said Pastor Tobias. Tobias is reminded of the Bible verse found in Isaiah 57:1 “The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.”

“The church will continue to pray and encourage the children as they cope with this tragedy,” said Tobias. “There is a strong family network in La Brea Adventist Church and the church organization will provide for Chapman’s surviving.”

Members of the La Brea Adventist Church are still mourning for the loss of so many lives. “We also mourn with the family of Michaela Mason. Please continue to prayer for us as a church and for the individual families,” a Facebook post said.

Media outlets reported that authorities captured the alleged killer earlier this week and will continue its investigation of the crime.

Memorial service for Michael Scott is scheduled for Sunday, Mar. 25, 2018, at La Brea Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Royston Philbert contributed to this report