Man charged for attempting to kill wife walks free

…after woman refuses to give evidence

Six months after Derrick Solomon, a taxi driver, was charged with attempting to kill his common-law wife, he walked out of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts a free man on Tuesday after she refused to testify against him.

The 60-year-old man of Lot 10 Block F North Sophia, Georgetown, was charged for the attempted murder of Carol London on March 2, 2019, at their North Sophia, Georgetown residence, where the couple shared a common-law relationship for over 10 years.
When the matter was called before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, London informed the court that she did not wish to proceed with the matter and would not offer evidence. As such, the case was discharged. The taxi driver was represented by Attorney-at-Law Dexter Todd. Previously, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan had instructed that Solomon undergo a psychiatric evaluation, after his attorney had mentioned that Solomon had suffered from a memory lapse and was on medication, and for a period of time, he stopped taking his medicine.
The results of the psychiatric evaluation later revealed that Solomon’s violent behaviour stems from a delusional disorder.
The prosecution was contending that on March 2, Solomon and London had an argument and he left their home. When he returned sometime later, he armed himself with a knife and dealt the woman several stabs about her body.
The injured woman was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) where she was admitted as a patient.
The victim had received injuries to her hands and face. A report was made to the police and Solomon was arrested and charged.
Only on Monday another woman, who was injured at the hand of her reputed husband, also refused to offer evidence against him. Swaswattie Etwaru, 33, who was severely beaten by her 24-year-old husband last week, which resulted in her being hospitalised, told this publication that she has refused to press charges against her husband.
Just recently, Acting (ag) Police Commissioner, Nigel Hoppie noted that statistics revealed that there were 2080 reports of domestic violence made in 2017 to the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and as a result of those reports, there were 1171 cases made by law enforcement authorities.
For the year 2018, there were 1491 reports, which led to 837 cases made by the police.
“We are all aware that domestic violence continues to be a serious social threat and it is everybody’s business because it does not only affect victims at their homes, it affects individuals at the workplace, and it affects every other family, it can also affect us at schools. Turning a blind eye to these occurrences can further threaten among other things, our culture…we can still hear insistent clammer by family members of victims for legal intervention,” Hoppie stated.