Berbice double murder: Brother of victim, another resident re-arrested as probe intensifies

As detectives of the Major Crimes Unit within the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) intensify their investigations into the murder of Melissa Arokium and her son, Anthony Arokium, the woman’s brother and another resident were re-arrested on Wednesday.
A source close to the investigation when contacted confirmed that 33-year-old Serrana Arokium and another person are being interrogated in connection with the murders.
On August 23, 2023, the bodies of the mother and her eight-year-old son were discovered at their home at Mangrove Street, Rose Hall Town, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne). The case was almost immediately transferred to the Major Crimes Unit.

However, within two hours of the discovery, Police had arrested four persons of interest including the dead woman’s brother and her boyfriend.
It was reported that the woman’s body was found lying in a pool of blood on the floor, while the child was on his bed and was also in a pool of blood. His body had what appeared to be at least one stab wound to the back of his neck, while his mother’s body appeared to have chop wounds to the neck, shoulder and chest.
The victim operated a small grocery shop at her home. She shared the building with her brother, Serrana Arokium, a cane harvester, but they lived in separate apartments.
The brother reportedly left home at 04:00h on the day in question to go to work, and upon his return at about 11:00h, he did not notice anything unusual. The bodies were discovered at about 13:00h, by another brother who was visiting.
The woman’s boyfriend had told detectives that one day prior to the gruesome discovery, he had visited the woman’s home where he found her crying. The man explained that when he asked her why she was crying, she did not give much details.
The mother and son were laid to rest on Saturday.