By Carlisle Jno Baptiste
Police have formally arrested and charged American-born Jonathan Lehrer the owner of Bois Cutlette and an accomplice Robert (Rob) Snider from Petersburg Florida with the murder of Daniel Langlois and his partner Dominique Marchard.
The area where the vehicle with bodies was found–Photo by Clyde K. Jno Baptiste
The men represented by lawyers Lennox Lawrence and Wayne Norde, will make their first court appearance before a Roseau Magistrate where the charge of “murder” will be read to them.
Lehrer aged 57 years, along with his wife (and Snider) and one local were among four persons in custody assisting the police in the murder.
Langlois and Marchand, who ran the Coulibri Ridge Resort, were ‘ambushed’ by a hit man who killed them and then set their car on fire, Dominica police said.
Langlois and Lehrer had been involved in a dispute over the usage of the Morne Rouge Public Road, which passes through the chocolatier’s estate.
The battle reached the island’s state highest court, which ruled in 2019 that the road was public and could be freely used by Langlois’ guests.
With a heavy police presence, the couple were taken back to the area as they aimed at piecing the investigations together.
The state’s case is being spearheaded by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Sherma Dalrymple.
Residents of the twin communities of Soufriere and Gallion have expressed “shock and anger” at what they described as the “brutal and heartless” killing of “two community icons.”
Residents did not want to be named but they expressed their anger at the demise of Daniel and Dominique.
One mother of six who worked at the Coulibi Ridge Resort for six years said she owed a debt of gratitude to the couple.
“They have been a source of inspiration to all of us, we want justice for them to bring Jonathan for us to take care of him, the community is in crisis, we want to deal with him ourselves,” she said.
She continued, “We don’t want him (Jonathan) to go to prison and eat our tax money and that of Daniel and Dominique, bring him for us to deal with him.”
Another retorted, “The community is hurting, we cannot work, we’ve lost two very good people, and the community will be poorer without them.”
People in the community labeled the killing as “heartless” and have advocated that the accused should be left without “food” and be made to sleep on the concrete.
Ericson Degallaire is the principal of the Soufriere Primary School and hails the work done by Daniel to rebuild the school after the damage of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“After Hurricane Marie in 2017, he was very instrumental in rehabilitating the Soufriere Primary school to the tune of over EC$1 million,” Degallarie said.
“I must say that the job was wonderfully done, the quality of materials used was unprecedented…what is more pleasing is that the school has been solarized, so when we have no electricity, the solar kicks on so we are never without electricity at the school. He has done very well for the school and, sadly, he and his partner met such a demise,” he stated.
We also drove to the community of Gallion with a population of about 150 residents and are employed at the Coulibri Ridge Resort.
“We have all benefited from Daniel and Dominique, our children at high school have all benefitted from the goodness of that couple, and almost everyone at Gallion has been employed at Coulibri Ridge,” another individual posited in tears.
All photos by Clyde K. Jno Baptiste