A close-knit community was in a state of shock last night after the mindless murder of a 57-year-old man who was found dead behind a workingmen's club in the small neighbourhood where he was born and raised.

Friends and close relatives of Eugene Lloyd (Josh) Smith said they could think of no reason why anyone would have wanted to harm the gentle grandfather, and questioned what their neighbourhood had come to.

Mr. Smith, of Hilltop Drive, Crawl, is thought to have been beaten to death behind Hamilton Parish Workmen's Club sometime between Monday night and yesterday morning.

As of yesterday, it was unclear how he had died, although Police said he had an injury to his face and head.

The father-of-three, who was known by many as Uncle Josh, was seen drinking in the club on Monday night, but was not seen after about 9.30 p.m.

His body was found yesterday morning, and Police were called to the scene at about 7.30 a.m.

A murder inquiry was launched soon after into the death of the divorcee, who was also the full-time caretaker at nearby Francis Patton Primary School.

The officer leading the investigation, Det. Chief Insp. Stuart Crockwell, yesterday said five people had been arrested and were helping with inquiries, and said detectives were still trying to piece together the final movements of Mr. Smith.

All of those people in Police custody are thought to be from the Hamilton Parish area - and some were close to the vicinity of the murder scene when they were picked up by Police yesterday morning.

Throughout the steady rain yesterday, crowds gathered around the workingmen's club to comfort each other, and talk about the friend they had lost.

Among them was two of Mr. Smith's three sons, Derrick, Jamel and Davel, his ex-wife Maxine Smith, and a number of other family members.

A shell shocked Jamel Smith watched as Police went about their work.

He said: "My dad was loved by everybody. I can't think why anybody would have done this. I can't talk right now. I feel bad."

Mrs. Smith, who was married to the murder victim for 14 years but divorced him 16 years ago, said they had remained friendly. She said: "I guess I feel like everybody else right now - it's very sad.

"He was a decent father and a very nice man. He had always worked hard. He was born and raised in Crawl, so he knew everyone. I can't imagine why anyone would have wanted to do this. He was a very likeable person."

Police yesterday set up a command centre in the car park of the club, and about 25 officers were assigned to the murder investigation.

Police cordoned off the area around the club, on Workmen's Lane, and placed a white forensic tent around the dead man's body, which was found in the garden, directly behind the club house.

Scenes of Crime officers, decked out in white overalls, combed the area for clues, leaving the body in situ for some time until Dr. Stephen Sherwin arrived on the scene at about 12.30 p.m. in order to certify the death. His body was then removed from the scene later yesterday afternoon. And, today forensic expert Valerie Rao, from Dade County, Miami, Florida will be flying in to work on the case.

Det. Chief Insp. Crockwell said: "We do suspect suspicious circumstances in the death and the serious crime unit will be doing a full investigation into the murder. "We do have several persons assisting us in our inquiry and we want to thank the members of this community for assisting us.

"We know that Mr. Smith died from a violent act. We are basically doing the preliminary of the forensic work. Once that is done, we will do the primary forensic search. We will then be able to identify any weapons that caused his death. At the moment, we have no leads as to why this might have happened."

Det. Chief Insp. Crockwell said the Crawl community, where many of Mr. Smith's relatives live, had offered information and provided some leads as to where officers could start to investigate.

He added: "Mr. Smith was a very well-known and respected person in this community. It's a shock to them because they don't normally get these sorts of circumstances in their community.

"I knew him personally, and he was a very down to earth person and he gave a lot of respect to people. He was always ready to help people. That's why the magnitude of the shock is very high - it's because of who he was.

"He was so well respected - emotions are running very high."

The detective said he was unable to say how many people were believed to have been involved in the fatal attack, and whether or not the motive was robbery.

He said the investigation was in its very early stages, but he hoped further investigating, including door to door inquiries, would bring new information to light. People on the scene yesterday said Mr. Smith must have known his attackers, purely because he knew everyone in the parish.

And they said, although a gentle guy who did not look for arguments, they predicted that he would have tried to fight off his assailants.

Mr. Smith's niece Gene-Anne Bean said she last saw her uncle in the bar last night, where she worked as a bartender.

She said: "I saw him last night, but he said he was not feeling very well, but he seemed okay. I thought I was going to see him today, so I couldn't believe it when I got a call this morning saying what had happened.

"I never saw him leave the club. I saw his old drink on the table, so I poured him a fresh one, but he didn't come back. I thought he must have just left - he sometimes did that.

"I feel really guilty. I think I was maybe in the club when it was happening. I left the club at 11 p.m., but we never heard anything."

The Ministry of Education released a statement last night expressing its shock and sadness at the news of Mr. Smith's death.

He had worked at Francis Patton Primary School since 1989, and also worked evenings at Baileys Bay Club and Hamilton Parish Club.

Education permanent secretary Michelle Khaldun said: "Our sincere and most heartfelt sympathy goes out to Mr. Smith's family and the Francis Patton School family.

"We offer the Ministry's deepest condolences at Mr. Smith's passing. He was very well known in the area of Hamilton Parish and well liked by the students, parents, principal and staff.

"Many of the east end residents would know him, at least by face, as he was responsible for the cross walk in front of the school every day, seeing to it that the children crossed safely.

"He loved the school children. He will be missed."

Yesterday, afternoon, Mr. Smith's family were being looked after by Police liaison officers at the Police recreation club after leaving the scene. Police are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to call Police on 295-0011, or CrimeStoppers, where information can be given anonymously, on 1-800-623-8477.

They are also looking to speak to people who were in the vicinity of the club between 7.30 p.m. on Monday, and 7 a.m. yesterday morning. And the public are also asked to stay away from the club until further notice, as it will be closed and the area is being treated as a crime scene.