Trinidad Police To Probe Deaths Of Father And Autistic Daughter

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago, February 10, 2020 (CMC) – The Autistic Society of Trinidad and Tobago, today, appealed for better treatment for persons with special needs, after a father reportedly killed his eight year-old daughter and later hanged himself.

“We want to extend our condolences to the family, because this is certainly quite a sad thing that has happened and something that affects us, personally, because we represent other families as well, where there is a person living with autism,” public relations officer, Sarah Soo Hon, said.

She said, while she can’t comment on the incident, it was also important for persons to seek help, if they can’t cope with special needs children.

“We would just like to encourage families to reach out for information and support, if they notice that their child may not be meeting developmental milestones,” she said, adding that autism is usually diagnosed “within the first two years of a child’s life”.

“In this instance, we really do feel saddened by the news, and we hope that this will encourage much more discussion about autism, but also about the way that we treat children with disabilities in our country and how we can, as a community, help to support the families that are caring for a child with a disability.”

Media reports said that Michael Maynard, a father of two, who was recently separated from his wife, had beaten the daughter after she wet her bed, while sleeping at their home, in Kelly Village in Central Trinidad, on Saturday night.

The police were told that after realising that the child had died, following the beating, Maynard took his own life, indicating that he could not live without his daughter.