Murdered Berbice hairdresser: “Whatever will be, will be” – arrested soldier tells Police

As Police continue to investigate the brutal murder of 29-year-old Donalesa Park, an umbrella that the woman had left home with was reportedly found in the suspect’s bedroom.
The hairdresser’s lifeless body was found wrapped in plastic at Courtland Village Public Road, Berbice, on June 30.

Dead: Donalesa Park

Based on information received, the mother of one had left her Number Two Village, East Canje, Berbice home on Wednesday at about 08:00h to plait a client’s hair, but never showed up. On Thursday morning, relatives became worried and started to call friends and other relatives to enquire about her whereabouts. However, the woman’s body was discovered at about 07:00h wrapped in plastic on an open plot of land.
On Saturday, ranks from the Major Crimes Unit continued to interrogate the suspect, a 32-year-old Corporal of the Guyana Defence Force, who was in a relationship with the now dead woman.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum confirmed on Saturday that while the soldier did not admit to killing Park, he told investigators that he will “live with the consequences” of his action and “whatever will be, will be”.
Meanwhile, investigators have confirmed that the last person to see the woman alive was the suspect’s sister, who admitted to detectives that she saw Park being physically assaulted by the suspect.
Police are also reviewing Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage from the area.
Reports are that the now-dead woman’s sister had last seen her sibling alive on Wednesday at about 08:00h at home. While at home, Park had told her sister that she was going to braid someone’s hair at Fort Ordinance, East Canje, Berbice.
“About 06:00h on Thursday, the sister called the individual whose hair Donalesa told her she was going to braid, but the individual related that she never showed up, and explained that the woman called and told her she had to go to Corentyne”, the Police statement added.

The umbrella which was allegedly found in the suspect’s bedroom

At about 07:00h, the woman’s body was found wrapped in plastic along the Courtland Village Public Road, Corentyne, Berbice, on an open plot of land.
Following the discovery, an uncle, Mortimer Amsterdam, explained that his niece had been in the hairdressing business for about 15 years. He said he had received a telephone call from his sister, who told him that her daughter had not been seen since Wednesday morning, when she had left the house. In addition, calls to her cell phone went unanswered for a short period, and the phone was later turned off.
He noted that the woman would conduct business with a serving member of the Guyana Defence Force, and she might have gone to collect the items.
“He does normally bring detergent for Donalisa from Lethem…so she went to collect the stuff, and since then they ain’t see she back…,” Amsterdam added.
The aggrieved uncle further stated that they were home when they received information that the woman’s body was found along the Corentyne.