…commits suicide in abandoned house
…11-year-old son witnesses ordeal
By Andrew Carmichael
An East Bank Berbice man was on Wednesday morning found hanging from a rafter under an abandoned house at Glasgow Village, moments after he killed his wife and daughter.
The double murder was witnessed by the couple’s 11-year-old son.
Dead are Dindamattie Behari, 37, a housewife; her daughter Surujdai Khan, 20; and their killer, Jainarine Seetaram, 41, also called “Radoo” all of Lot 1078 Glasgow, New Housing Scheme, Greater New Amsterdam, Berbice.
Behari’s body was found in a hammock, while her daughter died on her way to the New Amsterdam Hospital. A short distance away, Seetaram was found hanging at an abandoned house.
According to the Police, the couple’s 11-year-old son related that about two weeks ago, his father accused his mother of having of an extra-marital affair and they had a misunderstanding over it. The 11-year-old related that he and his sister Surujdai Khan were in the upper flat of the house while his parents were in the lower flat, when he heard his mother telling his father to remove from next to her. As a result,
Jainarine Seetaram and his wife Dindamattie Behari in happier times
he along with his sister went down to the lower flat to see what was happening. When they got downstairs, he saw his father was armed with a wooden handle hammer in his right hand while his mother was sitting in a hammock.
He stated that his father then dealt his mother a lash to her head with the said hammer. According to the son, the father also attempted to lash him with the same hammer, but he managed to run half a mile to his grandmother Omawattie Behari’s home and related what had occurred.
Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Lyndon Alves told the media that the Police were informed of the incident but by the time they reached the scene, the suspect had already fled.
The Police in a statement to the media said that the 11-year-old subsequently returned to the home where he saw his mother lying in the hammock motionless with blood about her clothing and body while his sister was on the ground helpless with blood about her clothes and body. Dindamattie Behari was seen with injuries to the right side of her head and a cut to her throat. Surujdai was seen with a cut to her forehead.
Meanwhile, according to another eyewitness, the couple was under the house having breakfast when the man attacked his wife with a cutlass and hammer.
One neighbour responded to the woman’s screams and was told by the attacker that they had disrespected him. He fled the scene when alerted neighbours went
Dead: Surujdai Khan
to the mother and daughter’s aid.
Ex-Police Officer Trevor Marcus heard the screams and responded.
“As I approached the guy, he ran away. I ran behind him and me and two others did not catch him,” Marcus said.
He said the man ran and crossed a canal and entered the canfield and disappeared.
Meanwhile, about one hour later, a construction worker noticed a man wearing a brightly coloured red shirt hanging under an abandoned house.
According to the Police, Seetaram was found under an abandoned house about 400 to 500 meters South-east of the scene with a rope tied around his neck. A wooden handle shine blade knife with what appeared to be blood stains was seen on the beam from which he was hanging. The couple had been together for 21 years.
Meanwhile, the dead woman’s mother told this publication that her daughter visited her home almost on a daily basis and was very kind to her, even coming to assist her with house chores. She related that her now dead son-in-law worked overseas.
Villagers described the family as being very quiet.
Marcus told Guyana Times that earlier in the morning, he walked past the house and saw Seetaram on his bridge and said hello to him and he looked his normal jovial self.
Dindamattie Behari is survived by her four siblings.
The bodies are at the Arokium Funeral home awaiting post-mortem examinations.
