A two-year relationship has ended in a tragic murder-suicide in the wee hours of Monday, and a couple has been found shot dead at Long Creek on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
Dead are 26-year-old Ajay Budhan, a farmer of Long Creek, and his 18-year-old girlfriend Ashley Singh of Soesdyke.
Dead: Ajay Budhan
According to Police reports, the incident occurred at some time between 00:30h and 06:30h on Monday, and Budhan is suspected to have shot Singh before turning the gun on himself. Their bodies were found on a trail leading to a farm.
Investigations revealed that Budhan had been the licensed holder of a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun and the owner of a white Toyota Tundra bearing registration number GAD 8403.
Police have said that, at about 00:30h on Monday, the couple left a resort located at Hillfoot, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, in Budhan’s vehicle; and a few hours later, a 23-year-old labourer of Long Creek, who was riding a motorcycle, saw a vehicle parked on the northern side of a trail. The headlights were still on, and there was what appeared to be a bullet hole on the right-side front door glass.
The labourer became suspicious and made a report to the Police. Upon arrival at the scene, ranks found the lifeless body of Singh slumped in the right-side front seat with what appeared to be a gunshot entry wound on the right-side neck and an exit wound to the left side neck and shoulder.
The body of Budhan was lying on the ground in a face-up position on the left side of the vehicle, and it had a gunshot wound to the right side of the head. Budhan’s shotgun was located to the right of his body.
The shotgun was examined, and a round was found in the breech. There were 18 empty 12-gauge casings and nine live 12-gauge cartridges recovered at the scene. Two Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max cellphones belonging to the dead couple were recovered.
Dead: Ashley Singh
Budhan’s body was identified by his brother Aaron Budhan, a 30-year-old farmer of Loo Creek, while Singh’s body was identified by her cousin Roland Baya, a 29-year-old resident of Hillfoot, Soesdyke-Linden Highway. Both bodies were escorted to the Diamond Diagnostic Center, where they were pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor before they were escorted to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home to await post-mortem examinations. Investigations are continuing.
Rocky relationship
Guyana Times was informed that the couple had shared a rocky relationship, and it is suspected that infidelity had led to this outcome. A friend of the late Budhan told this publication that Budhan had confided that he was experiencing “problems”, but he had never been expected to take these drastic steps.
With just about 400 residents, the community of Long Creek, nestled between Haurauni and St Cuthbert’s Mission, is mainly known for its farming activities and slow-paced lifestyle. As such, news of this tragedy has left the community in shock. After discovery of the bodies, news quickly spread that the couple had been killed. Many persons had been familiar with Budhan, since his father was a well-known farmer.
“I went out, and when I came back in, I heard that Ajay and his girlfriend got killed; but we don’t know what really happened,” shared Long Creek resident Devina (only name provided).
This is the second such incident for the year. In January, at Sarah Johanna on the East Bank of Demerara, 25-year-old Nicholas Low-a-Chee pulled the trigger of a gun on his wife, 27-year-old Elizbeth Sasha Dass Low-a-Chee, and then turned the gun on himself. They had been married for about six months. They were found in a blood-soaked bed with a gun suspected to be the weapon used to commit the acts.
Less than one month before that incident, a young barber had reportedly shot his reputed wife and then himself at Clay Brick Road, Belle West, Canal No 2 Polder, West Bank Demerara (WBD). Those persons were 30-year-old Attorney-at-Law Asasha Ramzan, called “Sasha”, and Peter Charles. Ramzan had been a State Counsel attached to the Attorney General’s Chambers.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) is encouraging anyone who needs someone to talk to, or knows someone who is in need of immediate assistance, to call the Suicide Prevention Hotline on 223-0001, 223-0009, 600-7896, or 623-4444, and speak with a professional counsellor. (G12)
