Chainsaw operator to stand High Court trial for wife’s murder

A man who stabbed his wife to death during an argument and later attempted to take his own life was on Tuesday committed to stand trial in the High Court after a prima facie case was made out against him.

Fifty-year-old Devanand Narine was arraigned in May 2019 before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for the crime. At that time, he was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on May 16, 2019, at Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), he murdered Farida Khayum.
He was remanded to prison and a preliminary inquiry (PI) was conducted before Magistrate Esther Sam at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court. However, after the PI, the Magistrate ruled that sufficient evidence was provided by the prosecutor that warranted a High Court trial.
The chainsaw operator will be tried before a Judge and jury at the next practicable sitting of the Essequibo Criminal Assizes.
It was reported that the woman and her husband were involved in a heated argument during which he armed himself with a knife and stabbed her several times about the body.

Realising that his wife had died, he immediately injected a poisonous substance into his body.
The woman, who worked at the Hack Rice Mill, was rushed to the Suddie Regional Hospital but she was pronounced dead on arrival. Her husband was hospitalised at the same medical facility under Police guard.
The woman’s mother had explained that she retired to bed early but was awakened by her daughter screaming “I going to die”.
As such, she left her bedroom and as she ventured into the living area, she saw her daughter lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
She said she immediately raised an alarm and sent her 10-year-old grandson to alert the neighbours, who, in turn, summoned the Police. As the Police arrived at the scene, ranks found the suspect in an unconscious state with an empty bottle, which is suspected to have contained a poisonous substance, nearby.
Both the injured woman and the suspect were rushed to the hospital.
Neighbours had explained that every time the suspect returns from the interior, he would consume alcohol and there were regular fights between him and his wife over his behaviour.
A neighbour said that the man was seen consuming alcohol prior to committing the heinous crime. Neighbours recalled hearing the argument between the couple earlier that evening.