A 28-year-old miner on Saturday confessed to the murder of Rosella Smith, 28, of Bamford Point, Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) whose body was found at an abandoned mining pit at Three Miles, Karrau Backdam, three months ago. He also admitted to the murder of Dimas Emilia Lezama Fermin, a Venezuelan cook.
Dead: Rosella Smith
It was reported that Fermin was raped, beaten, strangled to death and thrown into a mining pit at Big Hope Backdam, Cuyuni, Region Seven.
A miner and dredge owner were arrested following the discovery, since it was reported that the now dead woman had shared an intimate relationship with the dredge owner and a miner with whom she worked.
On the day the woman met her demise, the dredge owner said he had left her at the camp cooking while he and the workers left to go to the landing, where they began consuming alcohol at a shop.
The miner that was arrested was also among the group consuming alcohol. He then left the gathering and claimed that he was going to take a bath. The dredge owner was subsequently released, but the miner was further detained for questioning.
However, as Police continued their interrogation on Saturday, the miner told the investigators that when he returned to the camp site, he took a “pill” and became “delirious”. He said at that time he had seen Fermin and had asked her for sex, but she refused.
The miner further told Police that he then attacked and raped the woman, strangling her in the process. After realising that Fermin was dead, the miner dumped her body in a pit aback the camp.
Fermin’s body was discovered the following day clad in a blue jersey, without any underwear. Multiple marks of violence in the form of hematomas were seen about her body, the Police said.
Meanwhile, investigators told Guyana Times that during the investigations, they found striking similarities between Fermin’s murder and that of Smith, whose body was found on May 15 in a mining pit at Karrau Backdam, Mazaruni.
On the day in question, Police had found the woman’s camp ransacked and persons claimed that they saw a man leaving the backdam with a bag and bucket.
An autopsy performed on her remains proved that she died as a result of asphyxiation due to drowning compounded by compression injuries to the neck.
In the midst of the interrogation, the miner also admitted to killing Smith. He told investigators that he strangled the vendor to death during an argument over some raw gold that she had allegedly stolen from him.
At the time she met her demise, she was selling goods from a make-shift camp at Three Miles Backdam. The suspect is expected to be arraigned on two murder charges when he makes his court appearance this week.
