A Plaisance, East Coast Demerara (ECD), shop owner was stabbed to death in the wee hours of Monday morning by her neighbour after he accused the woman of sending a monkey to steal from him.
Murdered: Shellon BurnetteShellon Burnette’s shop where she was stabbed to death
Dead is 54-year-old Shellon Burnette of Lot 47 Graham Street, Plaisance, ECD, who operated a small grocery shop in front of her house.
Burnette’s 57-year-old neighbour with whom she had a verbal altercation about the monkey allegedly murdered the woman while she was inside of her shop.
According to villagers, the monkey is a stray animal.
Reports are that hours before her death, the suspect visited Burnette’s shop while she was attending to customers and began hurling insults.
It was then that he levelled accusations that the now dead woman had sent a monkey, which he believed she owned, into his home to steal his cash.
However, according to neighbours, Burnette denied the accusation and the duo ended up in an argument. Neighbours said that the suspect threatened to kill the woman and then left.
On Monday morning at about 00:30h, the suspect allegedly went to Burnette’s shop where she had been resting and continued a verbal row with her about the monkey.
Guyana Times understands that the argument escalated within minutes and the man dealt Burnette several stab wounds about her body before exiting the shop.
A relative of the now dead woman told the police that he saw the man, whom he identified as Burnette’s neighbour, leaving her shop moments before her body was found in blood.
When this publication arrived at the Burnette’s residence, the now dead woman’s family and relatives were still in shock and too traumatised to speak about the details of the incident.
However, they confirmed that the suspect was no stranger to the family.
Meanwhile, Police said that the suspect was apprehended and is currently in police custody pending investigations. (Kristen Macklingam)
