Elaine McGowan was standing outside her godfather's home in Trinidad and Tobago when a silver Nissan Tiida pulled up alongside her and her husband. The gunman stepped out of the vehicle and opened fire before fleeing the scene. McGowan, 65, was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Centre but was declared dead on arrival.
The pub landlady, who ran The Castle Hotel in Hythe, Kent, was killed on July 5. Friends and family remembered her as a ‘brilliant person’ and a ‘helpful and lovely lady’. Hemang Patel, who works at Saltwood General Stores, said the news had stunned the village. He had known McGowan since she took on The Castle before the Covid pandemic and ran it from 2019 until last summer. ‘I couldn’t believe what happened to her. It’s a huge shame,’ he said. ‘To me, she’s always been a brilliant person.’
“British pub landlady Elaine McGowan, 65, shot dead in front of husband in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Her sister Joanne Butcher said McGowan had been in Trinidad conducting business as the director of Cocal Retreat, her father’s farm in Manzanilla, and ‘continuing his legacy’. Butcher appealed for anyone with information to contact the police in Trinidad, who are conducting a thorough investigation. McGowan is survived by her ‘beloved husband’ Ian and ‘many, many family and friends’. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Trinidad and Tobago and are in contact with the local authorities.’
In a separate incident, a British illegal immigrant who was allegedly part of an international criminal organisation has been shot and killed in the United States, according to Sky News.