Cummings Lodge man kills wife, sets home ablaze in murder-suicide

Police have launched an investigation into an alleged murder-suicide after a 46-year-old man from Second Street, Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara (ECD), reportedly killed his wife in her bed early Wednesday morning before setting their home on fire. He later died from the burns he sustained.

Dead are 50-year-old Paula Abraham and 46-year-old Ishwar Singh. According to police, the incident occurred at approximately 01:30h.
At the time, the couple’s daughter, Preeta Singh, was asleep when she was awakened by her mother’s screams. She reported feeling intense heat and, upon investigation, discovered the house was on fire. She immediately exited through the southern door and raised an alarm, prompting neighbours and relatives to respond.
Preeta also observed a sofa chair in the hall engulfed in flames, which quickly began to spread throughout the structure. Shortly after, her father emerged from the northern door of the lower flat, visibly burnt.
Following the blaze, Paula Abraham was discovered lying motionless on a sponge mattress in her bedroom. A stab wound was visible on the left side of her neck, and blood stains were present on her clothing and bed. There were no burn marks on her body or the mattress. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ishwar was transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital; however, he succumbed to his injuries at around 10:10h. His body is currently at the hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Members of the East Coast neighbourhood were left searching for answers as they tried to understand what could have led the 46-year-old to murder his reputed wife before setting the couple’s home on fire, even as their daughter and other family members were at the house.
According to the neighbours, Abraham worked as a domestic worker, in addition to managing a small catering business that provided dhal puri to clients. Singh, on the other hand, was described as an alcoholic and has been unemployed for quite some time now.
The neighbours said that they had never seen an altercation between the couple or witnessed Ishwar being physically violent to Abraham.
The couple’s daughter, however, told investigators that her father was known to be abusive toward her mother, often threatening to kill her. She too described him as a habitual drinker.
Dhanrajie Narine, who lives next door and is a relative of the couple, recalled that up to the evening before the incident, there was no indication that such an incident could unfold, particularly since there were no arguments or altercations between Singh and Abraham.
Narine explained that she had gathered with other family members at the house as the family continued to prepare for a religious ceremony to honour Singh’s late father.
Several persons in the home at the time included a number of overseas relatives who had travelled to Guyana for the funeral of Singh’s father, who had died about two weeks ago.
Singh and his wife lived together in the lower flat of the two-storey wooden and concrete structure. The daughter, Preeta, who was at the home for the occasion, resides overseas.
“Up to last night I was over there and nothing, nothing [was wrong]. We sit down, everybody sitting down playing domino,” Narine recalled of the hours before the fatal incident.
Though the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) was summoned and responded promptly to reports of the fire, most of the house was destroyed, with the upper flat of the house suffering significant fire damage, while the lower flat was partially burnt.
Later on Wednesday, Minister of Human Services and Social Security (HSSS), Dr Vindyha Persaud, visited the family, donating hampers including mattresses, and spoke to the family about ways that they could get further assistance from the Ministry.
“My heart goes out to the family. I’m here to provide whatever support I need to provide because there has been not only loss of life but also a home has been burnt, so things have been destroyed,” Dr Persaud noted.
“This is heart-breaking. When I saw it, I immediately responded because every time we lose a life, and specifically when we lose women to the scourge of gender-based violence, it is something that I take personally. The family is devastated because it’s not only the loss of life, it’s the gruesome way in which our women continue to be killed.”
The incident comes just one week after another murder-suicide in Charlotte Street, where 36-year-old Alroy Solomon murdered his wife, 36-year-old Teekadai Atiya Solomon, and wounded their 10-year-old son before killing himself.