Couple had division of property case in court

East Canje murder/suicide

The East Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) couple, whose deaths rocked the community on Friday, had disagreements regarding their properties and were battling a division of property case in the High Court, relatives confirmed.
Businessman Rudolph Blair, called “Rudy”, 46, reportedly stabbed his wife, 42-year-old Rhonda Blair, twice at their Lot 91 Coburg Street, Cumberland Village, East Canje, home close to midnight on Thursday, before escaping to an empty plot of land behind the house, where he shot himself twice after a standoff with the Police on Friday morning.
While many, including close associates and relatives of the couple, knew that their relationship was very troubled, the news of their deaths shocked everyone.
Guyana Times understands that the couple had been separated for several months and their divorce is being processed in court. A relative of the now dead man told this newspaper that the couple’s most recent misunderstanding was over their Rosignol, West Bank Berbice, property.
The entrepreneurs were the owners of the Stretch ‘D’ Dollar Supermarket chain, which started in Cumberland back in 2002, then expanded to Rosignol in 2010 and at Pitt Street, New Amsterdam, in 2013.
In recent years, the businesses began losing profits and Blair had been having difficulty meeting financial obligations to a financial institution for a loan he had taken to establish the $83 million outlet at New Amsterdam, this newspaper was told. The bank had reportedly made an attempt on foreclose last year and all the stock was sold out. However, negotiation put a hold on the foreclosure.
Guyana Times was told that Rhonda had turned the Rosignol outlet into a church, reducing income and the ability of the couple to meet their financial obligations to the bank. According to the relative, Rudolph wanted to sell the West Bank Berbice property to repay the loan for the Pitt Street outlet, which was reopened about two months ago but was operating on a smaller scale.
However, his wife had objected because she wanted to hold onto the church, which the relative said was “dark” but refused to go into details.
The family member continued that after the New Amsterdam supermarket was reopened, Rhonda began making demands, since her name is also on the transport, for the business to be closed on Saturdays, despite them not being Adventists.
Moreover, the relative further revealed that because of the financial strain, the businessman was forced to sell vehicles in an effort to keep up with bank instalments. Additionally, two months ago, he sold another property he owned. He then purchased a car and operated it as hire but it could not bring in the amount of money needed to prevent the bank from foreclosing.
According to Police reports, Rhonda Blair’s body was discovered about 00:05h on Friday in her backyard with two stab wounds – one to the left side breast and the other to the right side neck. Meanwhile, Rudolph Blair’s body was discovered with two suspected gunshot wounds to the left ear and left side chest, about 08:40h in some bushes at the back of his premises. His licensed .32 pistol with six live rounds and one spent shell were found next to his body, the release said.
After the couple separated months ago, Rhonda Blair had moved in with one of her friends at Ithaca, West Bank Berbice, and on Thursday, she had left to go to the New Amsterdam outlet to conduct business but did not return.
The friend then made a report to the Police, who accompanied her along with the couple’s son to the East Canje home, where Rhonda’s body was discovered in a pool of blood.
At that time, her husband was the prime suspect and at about 05:00h, the Police received information that he was in the bushes. A standoff ensued between the man and the Police, during which the Police and relatives tried unsuccessfully to convince him to turn himself in.
It was reported that the man told relatives not to go closer to him, saying that he was “okay”. Shortly after, a gunshot was fired and he went silent. The Police then went in search of him and found his body on a plot of land covered with large trees about 60 metres from his fenced yard.