Mocha businesswoman gunned down during alleged robbery

– Suspects escape on motorcycle after fatal attack

A boutique owner was shot dead on Friday afternoon during what police believe was a robbery at her place of business in Mocha, East Bank Demerara (EBD). The victim has been identified as 51-year-old Desiree Hyman, a mother of six and longtime clothes vendor.

The shooting occurred around 14:30h at Lot 297 Mocha, where Hyman operated a small boutique. Investigators say she was attacked by two masked men who arrived at the shop on a motorcycle. One of the suspects was armed with a handgun.
Commander of Regional Division 4B EBD, Superintendent Wayne DeHeart, who led the response to the scene, said Hyman was confronted by the men, who reportedly attempted to rob her. During the encounter, she resisted, and one of the suspects opened fire. Hyman was shot six times, three bullets struck the left side of her lower abdomen, two hit the right side, and another was lodged under her right breast. After the shooting, the suspects fled the scene on the motorcycle, heading in a northern direction.

Police later recovered two 9mm spent shells and one suspected projectile about three feet away from her body. Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) from the Eccles Fire Station responded, and a doctor from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) pronounced her dead at approximately 16:40 hrs.
Her body was taken to the Memorial Gardens Mortuary, where it awaits a post-mortem examination. Several CCTV cameras were spotted around the area, and police say footage is being reviewed as part of the investigation.
Hyman, who lived at Lot 625 Mocha, had been selling clothes in the area for years. Her killing, according to her family, is a shock. Residents in the community also say crime has been increasing. Her husband, Mark Hyman, with whom she shared more than 30 years of marriage and six children, told reporters that he had only just spoken to her moments before the incident.

“I bought a Vitamalta and I bring it and give her this afternoon. She asked me if I was going home, and I told her no I am going and finish off a job. When I reach back to work, somebody called me and told me come now that my wife died”, he said. “When I come, I see a lot of people out here and a guy told me that he followed them… it was two guys on a motorcycle, but he lost track of them…”
He described her as a hardworking woman, someone who would give even her last to help others. Her generosity, he said, extended beyond family, to customers and strangers alike.
“My wife is hardworking. She would get up in the morning and sometimes she would cook, sometimes she wouldn’t cook, and she would come out here and work… she is always outgoing to everybody… she is always willing to assist people in the community. Everybody knows Desiree. She has been selling here for a while… This must hurt, we have been together for almost 40 years”, her husband said. Their daughter, visibly shaken, said her mother lived a quiet life and was not known to carry large sums of money.
“At around 2:30h, somebody called me and told me if anybody tell me somebody shot my mom. I just hurry and come… when I come in, my brother that was in there say that mommy dead. She didn’t have nothing here for them to rob she. She don’t come here with no kind of money. All she had was she two piece of ring and she chain… why they had to kill she like that…?” the woman cried.
Hyman’s sister Karen also described her as a determined woman who was always working to provide for her children.
“She is very hardworking… she works hard for everything… she didn’t deserve this”, the woman said.
This is the second reported robbery along the same street in the last two weeks, residents said. While the previous incident ended without casualties, Friday’s attack has left the community fearful.
Several vendors and shop owners in the area said they are now worried for their safety, noting that the violence appears to be escalating.
One vendor said: “We need protection, just two weeks ago they robbed another vendor up the street. But they gave them what they want and they didn’t do them anything. But look how they killed this woman that was just trying to make an honest dollar. We are now very fearful for our lives. This is very sad… this woman works very hard for her money and somebody out of nowhere came and killed her for it.”
Police urge anyone with information about the suspects or the motorcycle used in the crime, to come forward. The investigation is ongoing, as the family calls for justice.