Alpha Hotel murder: Suspect, victim met weekly to spend “quality time” despite being separated – Crime Chief

– says murder stemmed from woman’s refusal to inform children of couple’s reconciliation
…suspect to make court appearance today

As Junior Halley, the 50-year-old businessman who allegedly stabbed his estranged wife 13 times and slashed her throat is set to make his court appearance today, new information has surfaced with regards to the reason for committing the heinous crime.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum on Sunday told Guyana Times that despite being separated for several months, the suspect and the victim, Kim Halley, meet once a week at the hotel to spend “quality time” together.
He explained that on the day in question, the suspect requested that the woman inform their children that everything was okay between them and that they had reconciled.
But the woman was reluctant to heed to man’s request thus an argument ensued between them which ultimately turned deadly. According to Blanhum, the businessman of Mahaicony, ECD, during the argument, whipped out a knife and fatally stabbed the woman.
After committing the crime, he reportedly joined a minibus and went to the seawall where he offered a “junkie” $1000 for his shirt. At the time, his shirt was soaked with blood. Upon getting the shirt, he went to the Police Officers’ Training Complex where he surrendered.
It was reported that the woman’s lifeless body was discovered last Thursday in Room 235 of the Alpha Hotel on the East Coast of Demerara ECD. Clad in a black bra and a pair of blue short pants, the body was facing upwards and lying in a pool of blood, with at least 13 stab wounds and a slit throat.
A black-handled knife without a blade was found next to the woman’s body on the bed, while the blade was found in the now dead woman’s hair, covered in blood. Police have said that one of the woman’s daughters related that the 50-year-old suspect, a businessman of Mahaicony, ECD, is her stepfather.
The daughter related that her mother and the suspect had been married, but due to the abuse, her mother had moved to Georgetown about two months ago.
Nevertheless, the receptionist recalled that on the day in question, at about 13:45h, she was on duty at the hotel when the suspect and the woman booked a room. The receptionist recalled that at about 14:45h, she went to Room 235 and discovered the door slightly open.
She opened the door to tell Halley to keep the door closed but instead found the woman lying motionlessly on the bed in a pool of blood. She immediately raised an alarm, and the Police were summoned.
The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) team arrived and pronounced the woman dead. Prior to the discovery, a 19-year-old painter told detectives that he was painting on Thursday at about 08:00h when he saw the suspect at the security hut. He enquired about his purpose there but was told that he was waiting on someone.
At about 13:30h, he saw the now dead woman arriving in a car driven by another woman. Soon after, the suspect and Halley proceeded to their room.
Further, he recalled that at about 14:40h, he heard screams emanating from Room 235, and about 15 minutes later, he saw the suspect exiting the room and making his way out of the hotel.