Mugshot of Richard Liverpool. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — As Richard Liverpool appeared before the court on Monday, charged with the murder of his brother Steave Liverpool, details of what police say transpired on Saturday July 22 have emerged.
Investigators spoke to the person who picked up the brothers between 8:30 and 9:00 on Saturday morning and took them to buy bird food for the chickens the Liverpool brothers kept in their backyard.
On the way back to their Estate Thomas residence, the witness says that Richard and Steave got into a heated verbal altercation, which became physical. The spat spilled out onto the street near Fort Mylner, and the witness tried to intervene.
Ultimately, Richard Liverpool was dropped off at the top of Raphune Hill, and he reportedly took a short cut to his home. Steave continued on in the truck, making several stops with the driver before he was dropped off at the home. The witness says when they got to the Estate Thomas residence, they heard an obviously irate Richard Liverpool shouting that he was “going to do” something to his brother. The witness says they tried to call someone to help calm Richard down, then heard several shots. When the person saw Richard after hearing the shots, he did not have a gun.
Investigators also spoke to the person who called 911 to request a welfare check on Steave Liverpool. They told officers that Richard was always threatening to do Steave bodily harm. This witness says the person who drove the two brothers around in the morning called around noon to say that Richard had killed his brother.
A third witness told police that they received a call from Steave, who told them that Richard was threatening to kill him. He asked the person to speak to his brother. This witness says they saw Richard from the upstairs floor of his residence holding a black handgun in his right hand. Richard reportedly told them that he was going to kill his brother “for his mouth.” There were reportedly four gunshots, allegedly followed by a child’s exclamation - “Uncle Richard shot my daddy in the head!”
A fourth witness had just come home from purchasing food for a relative when they saw the same black handgun in Richard Liverpool’s hands. The two relatives were trying to calm Richard down, and then they heard four gunshots. At that point, Richard reportedly went downstairs to his apartment to eat and wait for the police. The witness says they went to an abandoned structure near to the home where they found Steave on the ground, bleeding from what appeared to be several gunshot wounds.
A fifth witness recounted a similar sequence of events; Richard threatened to kill his brother, people close to him attempted to calm him down, Richard ignored them and proceeded to shoot his brother several times, leading to Steave’s death. Several of the witnesses are close relatives of Richard Liverpool, many of whom live in the same house.
Investigators found that Richard Liverpool does not have a license to possess firearms in the territory, and he was arrested and charged with first and second degree murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, possession of an unlicensed firearm, possession of ammunition, illegal discharge of a firearm, and first-degree reckless endangerment.
In court on Monday, Magistrate Judge Simone VanHolten-Turnbull found probable cause for all the charges with the exception of reckless endangerment. Richard Liverpool was assessed bail in the sum of $1 million secured by cash or property, and should he be able to secure his release ahead of trial, he will have to surrender his driver’s license and passport, and will be prohibited from applying for new documents. He will also have to report to the probation office twice-weekly in person, and will be placed under 24-hour house arrest, with electronic monitoring, in the care of a third-party custodian.
Mr. Liverpool’s next court appearance is scheduled for August 11, 2023.
Advertisements
