6 murders reported in first 11 days of March

Six murders have been reported in the first 11 days of March.
The string of tragic events began on March 3 in Arimu Backdam, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), where businessman Mohamed Zaheer Sheriff and porter Donovan Washington fell victim to a daring robbery.
Police had said that two masked suspects, on a red All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), carted off 102 ounces of raw gold valued at $37 million and two licensed firearms (a .32 pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun), property of Sheriff, a father of three of Byderabo Road, Bartica.
Investigations so far revealed that Sheriff was the owner of a six-inch land dredge operation at Arimu Backdam and he had ‘washed down’ on the day in question. He then left the camp along with Washington, also a father of three, of Seventh Avenue, Bartica, on an ATV. The men were en route to Bartica.
According to the Police, the General Manager for Sheriff’s operation reported that about five minutes after his boss left camp, he heard several loud explosions which he suspected to be gunshots.
He said he went to investigate, and about 500 metres from the camp, found both Sheriff and Washington lying in the trail with gunshot injuries about their bodies.
He made a report to the Bartica Police Station.

Sheriff’s body was examined, and Police said he was shot in his right upper chest, upper right thigh, upper right arm, and left upper back.
Washington’s body was also examined. He was shot to his lower abdomen, left chest, left shoulder, left hand, and left elbow, with four wounds to the right thigh, two to the left thigh, and one to his back.
The scene was processed and one .32 magazine with eight live matching rounds, seven 9mm spent shells, and three .32 spent shells were found. Following the incident, several persons were arrested.

Housewife’s death
Tragically, on March 4, a 24-year-old housewife was brutally stabbed to death by her drunken husband during an argument at their Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) home.

Dead is Nikesha Sutton. Police stated that on March 4, about 15:00h, the suspect arrived home under the influence of alcohol, and a heated argument erupted between him and his wife.
He then left home, but returned about 17:00h with two bottles of alcoholic beverages in his hands. Another argument broke out between the couple, which escalated into a scuffle.
At this time, the deceased’s sister intervened, but soon after, the drunken man instructed his wife to pack her things and move out of the house.
As such, the woman packed some clothes in a bucket and was making her way to her sister’s home when the suspect reportedly broke one of the bottles he was carrying and stabbed her in the neck, after which he fled the scene.
The woman collapsed, but was picked up and taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Days later, the suspect was found by Police and arrested at Timehri, East Bank Demerara.

Body found with chop wounds
March 5 brought with it grim discoveries when the decomposed body of a West Coast Berbice (WCB), Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) man was discovered in the backlands of Number 41 Village, WCB with chop wounds suggesting he was murdered.

Dead is 45-year-old Odit Persaud Thom of Number 5 Village, WCB. Reports are that Thom was reported missing since March 2. Three days later, his body was discovered floating in a trench that separates the rice fields from the savannah.
Regional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Kurleigh Simon said in a release that Thom took care of cattle in the backdam for several persons and was staying at a camp located at Seafield Backdam.
A rice farmer, whose impounded cattle were under Thom’s care, told this newspaper that he had not seen the man for days.
This caused the 28-year-old farmer, whom Thom was also working for to go into the backdam in search of him at his camp. The man reported that he did not find Thom at the camp. The next day, together with other cattle farmers, he continued the search and eventually found Thom’s motionless body floating in a trench.
Commander Simon said the body was fished out by the Police and was in a state of decomposition. It was observed that the deceased sustained chop wounds to both arms and the head.
At the time of the discovery, he was carrying a haversack on his back which contained toiletries and his ID card.
Police canvassed the area and a pair of slippers and caps were found on the dam in the vicinity where the body was floating.

Mother, son
On March 8, a woman and her son were brutally chopped to death by a prison escapee at their home in Saxacalli village along the Essequibo River.
Dead are 75-year-old Elizabeth Gomes and 49-year-old David Gomes, of Saxacalli and of Durban Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown. This crime took place between 17:00h and 20:00h and was witnessed by David’s six-year-old son.

Guyana Times understands that since the family moved to the city, they would return very often to clean their house and surroundings at Saxacalli. However, their routine visit took a sinister turn when an unexpected visitor arrived on their doorstep. The suspect, later identified as prison escapee Akeem Wong, who reportedly escaped from the Mazaruni Prison on February 15, 2024, approached the residence, seeking food and directions.
Police have said that Gomes’s six-year-old son related that about 15:00h on the day in question, the suspect visited their home and requested something to eat, while asking for directions. He was given food, and also took a few drinks with the child’s father.
“The child also stated that he later saw the suspect (arm) himself with a cutlass and (dealt) his father several chops about his body. His grandmother (Nellie) went to (her son’s) rescue, and she was also dealt several chops about her body,” the Police release has stated.
The Police have said that after committing the act, the suspect attempted to wash down the blood, but in the process, he heard a boat approaching, so he ran into the nearby bushes and made good his escape.
The Police have also said the child told them that during the ordeal, the suspect was chopped by his father.
The child, the Police said, took his father’s cellular phone and sent a voice note to one of his father’s friends, who in turn contacted the Police.
Police investigations have thus far revealed that Wong was seen in the area at the location, and is allegedly the person who committed the murders. The scene was processed, and it was observed that both of the deceased were chopped multiple times to their heads and bodies. The child was removed from the scene, and the bodies were subsequently transported to the Bartica Hospital Mortuary.
Wong, called “Bin Laden”, a convict who was serving a 15-year sentence for rape, escaped from the Mazaruni Prison in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) in a brazen act on February 15. The Guyana Prison Service has said that Wong and another inmate, Gilbert Gill, were under the supervision of a prison officer, performing labour duties in a ‘wood bush’ when Wong requested permission to go defecate, and was granted same by the prison officer.
About five minutes later, a check was made for Wong, and it was discovered that he had gone missing. An alarm was raised, and law enforcement officials widened the search perimeter around the area.
Wong was 27 years old when he was convicted in 2020 for raping a 14-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that on June 30, 2017, in the county of Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration of the child.
A probation report had stated that Wong, a resident of Half Mile, Wismar in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), had been associated with persons of unsavoury character, and had been involved in many delinquent activities.
According to the probation officer, Police records showed that Wong was wanted for a murder that occurred in Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini), and he was arrested only in 2018 after a wanted bulletin had been issued for him.
The probation officer had informed the court that Wong had told her he had also previously been charged with break-and-enter and robbery, but he claimed those charges had been dismissed. Up until press time on Sunday, he had not been arrested. (G9)