Venezuelan woman remanded for killing drinking buddy

Oriamna Naomi Silva Figuera, a 23-year-old Venezuelan national, has been charged with the murder of miner John Patrick, called “Sunny”, which allegedly took place between August 17 and 18 at the Kumung Kumung Backdam in the Puruni River, in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Arraigned before Bartica Magistrate Christel Lambert on Wednesday, the defendant was not required to plead to the indictable charge, and has been remanded to prison until September 13.
John Fitzpatrick, called “Sunny”, was reportedly stabbed to death by Figuera while he was asleep in a hammock. According to the Police, at about 23:00h on Thursday, August 17, Fitzpatrick was in the company of two female Venezuelan nationals and others, imbibing at a shop when he approached one of the females and requested to dance with her.

The woman declined his advances, and he became annoyed and held on to her, but she pushed him away and an argument ensued between them. According to eyewitnesses, the female then broke two bottles and threatened Fitzpatrick.
Persons at the shop attempted to resolve the situation, but Fitzpatrick began to behave disorderly and assaulted two of the men trying to subdue him. The two men, in turn, dealt him several cuffs and lashes about his body, and he was later taken to his camp in an intoxicated state. Sometime thereafter, he retired to bed.
However, at about 06:00h on Friday, August 18, Figuera was allegedly seen running from Fitzpatrick’s camp, and his bloodied body was later discovered lying motionlessly in his hammock. There was one stab wound on his upper left side chest, two stab wounds below his left armpit, and one to the upper left side back.
Following the discovery, Figuera was arrested.
Police have said that, during interrogation, Figuera admitted to stabbing the victim with a retractable knife that she had in her possession. She told Police that Fitzpatrick had attacked her when she had refused to dance with him at a shop in Kumung Kumung. She said she went to his camp later that night, where she saw him lying in a hammock, and dealt him three stabs about his body.
Government Pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh has given Fitzpatrick’s cause of death as perforation of the heart and lung due to stab wounds.