The father of murdered national footballer Shaki Crockwell last night had a message for his son's killer: "What's done in the dark comes into the light and you must answer to God on Judgement Day."

Danny Crockwell told The Royal Gazette he just wanted to know the killer's rationale for taking away his "brethren" and "confidant".

Shaki, 25, was shot in the neck on the night of August 24, along the Railway Trail near Loyal Hill in Devonshire. Now his two young sons have inherited the anguish brought by the tragedy.

"The family is still in a state of mourning," said Mr. Crockwell. "And as soon as I can get myself together, I plan to speak to the Police for an update on their investigation."

Mr. Crockwell had stated in past interviews that he had no idea who killed his son or why. He reiterated that nothing has changed as far as his information. "I remember waking up around 10.30 p.m. when I received the news," he said.

"I don't know what his involvement was, nothing. I'm still in the dark.

"The whole family is in the dark and when we first heard about his death, boy oh boy, I didn't believe it — I said 'no, not my boy, my boy is home'. "When I kept calling his phone and got no answer I knew that something was wrong.

"That's when the Police called me to the station and confirmed that it was Shaki."

Mr. Crockwell said the media seems to be taking "talk on the street" as gospel and that rumours have been flying about his son's death. "When they put in the paper that Shaki was involved in three or four fights, what are they talking about?

"The Royal Gazette is just printing talk on the street. I don't buy that. Shaki was a good boy. The only reason he would fight you if you had messed with his family — that's it.

"Shaki don't go out there to go look for fights. The stuff that The Royal Gazette put in the paper before, saying Shaki was involved with married women and all that — people have got to stop listening to the street.

"If you want to know anything about Shaki come see me because I raised him and he was no troubled boy. The street stuff is BS!"

But Mr. Crockwell said he is not interested in revenge.

"I'm not looking for any revenge or say that I'm going to kill somebody — I'm not looking for that. All I want to know is why? I'm a Rasta man, I don't deal in war, I love people. If I came up to whoever shot my son and saw their parents, I'd tell them I love them, all I want is why."

Mr. Crockwell said the public must help the Police to find his son's killer. He does not want this to be an unsolved murder and expressed frustration over the most recent unsolved murders of 18-year-old Jason Lightbourne, shot and killed on July 23, 2006, while behind the wheel of a car on Ord Road and 20-year-old Shaundae Jones, shot in the chest on April 27, 2003, in Dockyard.

"I can't say exactly how much I trust the Police, because Jason and Shaundae's investigations remain ongoing," Mr. Crockwell said. "But, you must help the Police to do their job, the public must help them to do their job because it's too much of this murdering going around and you're leaving other people's family to grieve — that's how I'm feeling.

"It was only three weeks before Shaki died that he turned to the church; he had given himself to the Lord."

Shaki Crockwell has been described as an exceptionally talented footballer, and was captain of Boulevard Blazers, as well as playing for Bermuda Hogges and the national team.

His Hogges career stalled after he could not travel to the US because his name was on the stop list owing to a 2003 conviction for grievous bodily harm to an off-duty prison officer.

But Hogges president Shaun Goater had said after his death he believed Shaki was moving away from a crowd which had led him to trouble.