The family of 36-year-old Nelson Thomas, a miner of Kaneville on the East Bank of Demerara, was sent into a state of shock after he was stabbed to death on Thursday night – mere hours after he returned home to see his newborn.
Reports are that the murder occurred at about 21:30h, in close proximity to the victim’s Lot 1010 Kaneville, EBD residence.
Thomas left home at about 19:00h to visit an uncle in the same community. Later, he went to a barbershop where his friends would usually socialise. He was returning home when he was ambushed and stabbed by an unknown suspect. Police have ascertained that the incident stemmed from an attempted robbery.
After the incident, a resident reportedly heard someone calling for him and upon checking, he saw Thomas lying motionlessly on the eastern side of his yard under a shed, with his body covered in blood.
Nelson, who lived with his wife and mother, primarily worked in the interior and would return home after intervals. His mother, Pearl Henry, told this publication that this time around, he returned to have his first child registered. The little boy was born last week and brought home a few days ago.
That afternoon, he indicated that he was leaving to go out and the family retired to bed, but he never returned home.
Murdered: Nelson Thomas
“This boy is my one and only son. This is the first baby he got and he came from the interior to sign for this baby and look what happened. He’s dead. He left to go by my small brother and when he come back, he went to the barbershop. They didn’t cut his hair but he stayed around there because that’s his long time friends cause he doesn’t drink. When he left from there, somebody killed him,” the distraught woman relayed.
Mother of deceased: Pearl Henry
It was after midnight that Henry heard her neighbour shouting, informing that her son was stabbed. She immediately dashed over to the scene, where her son’s body was lying on the ground with visible wounds.
“My neighbour called me and when I ran out, I could just fall down. I felt so bad. We had to fetch the baby and go down the road. When we went, this thing happened a long time ago. The Police already block off the area. He was right there, lying on the ground dead. He was on his way home,” she cried.
The matter was handled by ranks of the Grove Police Station. After the body was escorted to Diamond Public Hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival and later escorted to Memorial Gardens Funeral Parlour. A post-mortem examination was conducted on Friday morning.
The man’s mother is calling for law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation. She noted that it is especially difficult, since his wife is now rendered a single parent.
Henry lamented, “I said the Police must go and collect all who were there and somebody must say who did this. If we don’t speak for our rights, nothing will get done. He had on a gold chain on his neck and when he found him, it was gone…I need justice. I need justice for my son.”
In the community, it was pointed out that there is a high degree of crime committed on residents, spelling the need for greater Police presence and monitoring.
Meanwhile, investigations are continuing. (G12)
