Gasoline attack by Venezuelan woman: “He tried everything to stay alive” – grieving sister of businessman

By LaWanda McAllister

A 36-year-old businessman of Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara (ECD) has lost his battle for life more than three weeks after a harrowing gasoline attack that left him with devastating burns.
Frederick Stafford Junior succumbed to his injuries after multiple surgeries in an effort to survive. The brutal attack occurred on March 9, at Mango Landing, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), allegedly at the hands of his partner, Veronica Rondon Alfaro, a Venezuelan national.
Police investigations revealed that Stafford and Alfaro had been in a relationship for about a year, but in recent months, the couple had begun having problems.

On the night of the attack, Alfaro reportedly left Stafford’s business and went to a nearby shop, owned by another Venezuelan national, where she consumed alcohol. Around 23:00h, she returned to Stafford’s business, which was closed at the time, and knocked on the door.
When Stafford refused to let her in, telling her, “Go back where you went,” she allegedly forced her way inside, this time carrying a one-litre Coca-Cola bottle filled with gasoline.
According to Police, Alfaro doused Stafford with the gasoline and, in the chaos that ensued, some of the flammable liquid spilled onto her as well. In an instant, she lit a lighter, engulfing them both in flames.
The fire spread rapidly, and it was only through the quick intervention of persons in the area that the flames were put out. The injured couple were rushed to Eteringbang Police Station before being airlifted to Georgetown via a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) aircraft.

“He fought, he really tried everything”
For 21 agonising days, Stafford fought to stay alive. His family said that doctors worked tirelessly, performing two surgeries, including skin grafting, in an attempt to repair the extensive burns covering his body.

His sister, Christine Stafford, recounted the sheer willpower her brother displayed in his battle for survival.
“It [the surgery] was to improve the areas and to improve the weak parts so that it would not cause him to lose his life. So, he did it to save his life,” she said. “My brother fought; he really tried everything to save his life. He had the third-degree burns between his thighs.”
But despite the best medical efforts, his condition worsened.

A family’s devastation
The news of Stafford’s passing has shattered his loved ones, especially his three children.
“We are shocked, we didn’t expect anything. It was someone in the interior who called his children’s mother and told her what happened, and she called us. We were told that after the woman did what she did, she jumped over in the river and tried to swim… it was people who were around, jumped behind her and bring her back,” Christine recalled.
Struggling to process the loss, she described her brother as a man full of love and kindness.
“My brother was very loving. He would always take care of you. This whole situation is just like you are watching a movie.”
Despite his relationship with Alfaro, Christine revealed that the family had never met the woman. She said based on what they know, her brother was in a six-month relationship with the woman, and it was a troubled one.
She claimed that Stafford had tried to end the relationship, but Alfaro refused to let go.

Justice
Alfaro was initially charged with attempted murder when she appeared virtually before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh on March 13. However, with Stafford’s passing, prosecutors are expected to upgrade the charge to murder. The case is set for continuation on June 17.
“We want justice, we need justice! If she has to be hanged, if she has to go to jail, then she got to get it! Because it is too often these people coming and doing people a set of things, and nobody is getting justice. After she did what she did, she was escaping.”
Christine said her brother had many dreams and ambitions, dreams that were cruelly stolen from him.
Now, with his death leaving a void too deep to fill, his family is struggling to cope.
“We [his family] are not coping. The entire extended family… nobody is doing good,” Christine lamented.
“His children just keep crying; they didn’t even eat anything for the day,” the sister said.