PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Police have launched a manhunt for the killers of two sisters after their charred remains were discovered in a house set on fire in Arima, east of here, on Monday.

Police believe that the murders of Kim Griffith 34 and her younger sister, Salisha, may be as a result of an ongoing dispute over land ownership.

Salisha, a mother of three, celebrated her birthday one week ago and a brother of the deceased women told reporters that the children may have been spared because they were not at home at the time of the murders.

Autopsies on both women revealed they were murdered before the fire consumed the building.

Forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov said the women bled to death after their throats were slashed. He said there was no evidence of soot or carbon monoxide poisoning in their lungs to indicate they were alive when the house was set ablaze.

Their deaths have brought the murder toll so far this year to 188.