Man torches house, himself after stabbing wife in domestic dispute

… “thank God that we weren’t in there” – wife

By Andrew Carmicheal

A domestic dispute between a husband and wife, who would have celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary on Tuesday ended tragically on Monday afternoon when the man set himself and the couple’s house on fire.
Julius Inniss also known as “Storme”, a 56-year-old labourer of Catherine, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD), died after he locked himself in the house and set it on fire.
The incident occurred just after he and his wife were involved in a domestic dispute, at around 15:00hrs on Monday.
The now-dead man shared the house with his wife and their daughter. The electrician set himself and the house on fire after stabbing his wife.

Police said the wife, 46-year-old Shellon Inniss visited the Mahaicony Police Station earlier in the day to make a domestic violence report. She was then taken to the Mahaicony Hospital for medical attention, after which, a team of police accompanied her back to her home.
Upon arrival, it was reported that the husband ran into the house and locked himself inside.
Soon after, smoke was seen coming from the building, and the man was spotted through the window, setting it on fire. The house eventually became engulfed in flames. Once the fire was extinguished, the man’s charred remains were discovered.

Troubled
The grieving widow shared with this publication that her husband had been in need of help. She explained that he became troubled after his father’s recent death, especially after being excluded from his father’s will.
“My husband have his own problems and because of that he has a lot of anger, he drinks a lot and oftentimes we would argue,” she explained.
On Sunday the couple was engaged in an argument during which the now dead man had left the home and returned during the wee hours of Monday, where he attacked the woman with a knife.
“I was in the bed and he came in and jump on me with a knife and he had it on my throat. I didn’t know it was a knife, I thought it was a pin. I had to hold it and when I hold it was the knife and he was like ‘I am going to kill you.”
Innis said her 14-year-old daughter ran out of the house and was able to get some help from a neighbour.

That was short-lived as the man ordered his daughter to get into the house at 03:00h. She said when the neighbour arrived her husband went outside and spoke with him.
“And he talk so cool and so calm to that guy and the boy left but I was by the window showing the guy signs not to leave and to wait but he didn’t see me at the window. If he had seen me, he would have known that we need help because my husband did not indicate to him that something was going on upstairs so the boy left. When the boy left he come back upstairs and he start again.”
The woman said she managed to escape and fled the house without clothing, not knowing where her daughter had gone to hide.
She recounted that her husband chased after her, but she hid behind a cluster of bushes and returned home at dawn to gather some clothing. Upon entering the house, she noticed kerosene had been spilled on the floor. She then went to one of her husband’s brothers, pleading for him to visit the house and speak with his sibling, but the brother was unable to make the trip.
The woman said she then made her way to a cousin of her husband, pleading with him to visit the home but he too could not go. She subsequently went to the police. The woman said he broke the window and used one of the panes and lit a stuffed toy to ignite the building.
“He said look and he started to light and the fire started to get big. He spoke to us. He called me and he called his daughter.”
Inniss said she believes her husband was trying to make his way out of the house before he collapsed.
“Like he was coming down the step because we found him right there,” she added.
According to the mother of one, there are indications that her husband might have ingested a poisonous substance pointing out that he had a bottle that contained a whitish substance and she later noticed that several bottles containing chemicals were opened and left under the house.
All the family’s valuables were destroyed in the blaze along with some construction materials and her daughter’s school supplies.
“Thank God that we weren’t in there… We lost a life; I lost my husband and my daughter lost her father; I don’t care about the house; these are material things. I could get back a house even if it is a small one but I can’t get him back. We need help,” she said as she broke down in tears.
The couple would have celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.
“We need somewhere to stay because we don’t have nowhere… My daughter has to go to school [Christ Church Secondary] and she travels every day. All her school clothes and everything burn up. She has to go to school on Monday and I don’t have nothing.”
The woman can be contacted on telephone numbers (592) 668-2383 or (592) 638-2229.