The wooden Four Miles Squatting Area, Bartica, Potaro Road house on fire (Bartica Newsletter photo)
A mother and her two daughters, aged three and five, perished in a fire at Four Miles Squatting Area, Bartica, Potaro Road, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), on Saturday, after her reputed husband and the father of her two children set their house ablaze.
Dead are Carolina Kennedy, 48, a housewife, and her two daughters, Mariana Downer, five, and Gabriella Kennedy, three, all of Four Miles Squatting Area, Bartica, Potaro Road.
Reports are the man allegedly heard his reputed wife on the phone speaking with a male and became enraged.
Police on Sunday said at about 21:30h on Saturday evening, an unknown caller contacted the Bartica Police Station and reported a fire at the couple’s home.
As a result, the lawmen and the Guyana Fire Service responded but upon arrival, they saw the wooden structure completely engulfed in flames.
“The water tender was unable to reach to its location and as such a bucket brigade was formed,” the Police said.
When the fire was extinguished, what appeared to be the charred remains of three humans was found in the southeastern corner of where the house stood, Police said.
Carolina Kennedy and her two daughters, Gabriella Kennedy and Mariana Downer who died in the fire
The bodies of the victims were subsequently removed from the scene and taken to the Bartica Hospital Mortuary.
Based on information received a search was launched for the suspect and he was found in the bushes in close proximity to the house.
He was immediately arrested and escorted to the Bartica Hospital where he is presently admitted for minor burns to his feet.
Investigations are still ongoing.
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post on Sunday, Mayor of Bartica, Gifford Marshall expressed sadness about the incident.
He said: “What I witnessed was beyond comprehension. Little Mariana Downer 5yrs and her sister 3 yr old Gabriella Kennedy did not deserve to die the way they did. Their mom Caroline Kennedy, I’m certain was looking forward to spending the holidays with her dear daughters. Like Mariana and Gabriella, she did not deserve to die in that tragic manner. It is cruel and heartless to kill your spouse, but a father who kills his daughters, is not human. Our prayers are with the relatives, friends and the entire Four Miles community.” (G9)
