Berbice mother suffocates 7-year-old daughter, toddler survives attack

– mother under Police guard after attempting to end own life

A seven-year-old girl was strangled to death while her younger brother escaped the wrath of their mother, who went berserk on Sunday at their Fyrish Road, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) home.
The deceased child has been identified as Isabella Dabadial, a former pupil of Cooper Primary School. Her brother, one year and nine months old, Ethan, survived the attack but is left traumatized after witnessing the brutal manner in which his sister was killed and the attempted suicide of his mother.
Based on reports received, the mother of the children, Sarah Elizabeth Shivpersaud, 26, told investigators that she had been experiencing frustration after her husband had left the home several days earlier and refused to return.
She stated that she woke up on Sunday morning with nothing to eat and, out of frustration, suffocated Isabella and attempted to strangle her young son. After committing the act, she reportedly cut both of her ankles with the intention of taking her own life.

However, the gruesome discovery was made by the children’s grandmother, who immediately raised an alarm. The mother and the two children were rushed to the Port Mourant Public Hospital, where Isabella was pronounced dead on arrival, while her brother was treated and handed over to relatives.
The mother, on the other hand, was treated and remains in stable condition under police guard.
At the scene, the children’s grandmother, Lalita Badesi Bridgelal, recalled finding the mother and her children in the house when she rushed in after several calls to them went unanswered.
“When I reach by the window and pull the louvre, I see she lying there… the child lying down and the baby in the middle. I start calling and calling… only the little baby response; he raise he foot,” she told the Guyana Times.
For Bridgelal, the events of Sunday have left more questions than answers. She recalled speaking with her daughter on Saturday evening, during which concerns were raised about issues at home.

“She call me the night before and tell me about problems at home. I ask if she want me to come, but she say no,” the grieving grandmother said.
She said she checked on her again on Sunday morning and asked whether she should visit, but was again told not to come. Bridgelal recalled telling her daughter that she was heading to church and would visit afterward.
“I tell she I going to church and I would come after. When I come back… everything done happen.” That decision now haunts her.
By the time she arrived at the house, she realized something was amiss.
“When I see them on the ground and they not responding it get a hammer from a neighbour and break the door. When I reach inside, I start shaking them and calling for neighbours. Nobody respond but the baby. I didn’t know what happen to the little girl… I try everything.”
Neighbours soon gathered as she raised the alarm, and the police were called. The children and their mother were then taken for medical attention, but Isabella could not be saved.
As the shock spread through the community, Bridgelal also spoke of what she said were longstanding tensions in the home. She claimed that while her daughter did not often speak openly about her situation, there had been signs of abuse in the relationship.
“She never really complain, but I know he used to beat she… the children does tell me they does see when they fighting.”
She said her son-in-law would spend days away from home and claimed that he was seeing someone else.
That account, however, is sharply contested by the children’s father, Kirwayne Dabadial, who acknowledged that the relationship had deteriorated in recent weeks but rejected claims of infidelity and sought to explain the events leading up to Sunday. He maintains that accusations of a relationship with another woman are completely false.
“The pictures people talking about is me and my sister. There was nothing like what she thought,” he said.
He nevertheless, related that the couple had been together for approximately eight years, during which time arguments were not uncommon.

“We used to have arguments. Whenever things get bad, I would go by my mother to cool off,” he said, describing a pattern of temporary separation during disputes. He said the most recent breakdown occurred about two weeks ago after he discovered messages on Shivpersaud’s phone, which led to a confrontation.
“About two weeks ago, I find messages on she phone, and we had an argument. I decided to leave for a while,” he explained. According to him, he had been staying away from the home in an effort to defuse tensions, but remained in steady contact. That contact took a disturbing turn on Sunday morning.
He recalled receiving a message that immediately raised alarm. “She message me and say I have 15 minutes to reach home or I would regret it,” he said.
Moments later, the woman initiated a video call. What he saw, he added, is something he is still struggling to comprehend.
“She call me and show me the children lying down… like they sleeping… and then she tell me it was too late.”
Now faced with the loss of his daughter and the attempted murder of his son, Dabadial said he is overwhelmed with grief and unanswered questions. “Right now, I grieving… if I could have done anything to save my daughter, I would.”
Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing.